


Stranger Things

by witchbrat



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: 1990s, AU, Ableism, Gen, M/M, Past Abuse, Stranger Things AU, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-12 21:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7949449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchbrat/pseuds/witchbrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a stranger things au</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Today was going to be shit. Frank pulled on his jeans, making sure not to get his toes stuck in the frayed knees. Zipping up his pants, he moved to the kitchen and dumped his long since finished cereal bowl into the sink and grabbed his patch-covered backpack. Today was going to be shit and he knew it, just like yesterday was shit and just like tomorrow would be shit too. With a huff, Frank shut the door and walked down the driveway towards school. 

“Hey buddy !” Ray greeted him as Frank arrived at the next block’s corner. 

“Hey,” Frank nodded at him and the two set off together. A chilly breeze whipped past the two as they entered the high school. They stopped at Ray’s locker briefly, Ray exchanging textbooks and binders before the two set off again. He roughly patted Frank’s shoulder as the two walked down the hall, parting ways with a “see you third period!” and a smile. Frank watched him disappear into a classroom and quickly found himself facing the door of his first period class right as the bell rang.

The first two classes of the day were uneventful at best, save for the local douchebag in first period who kept having “leg spasms” that were coincidentally directed at the back of Frank’s chair. He repeatedly sighed and stared at his knuckles for the most part, drowning out the lectures and the other students. As he moved on to his third period class, U.S. History, Ray rejoined him in the halls along with Bob. Frank greeted his friends with a half-hearted smile and tired eyes.

“Hey, you guys hear what everyone’s talking about today? About that weird electrical shitstorm that’s been happening ?” Bob asked, voice hushed.

“Uh...no? Nothing has happened at my house, and do I look like the kind of guy who gives a shit about what everyone is hyped about?” Frank furrowed his brows, shrugging his full backpack onto his shoulders.

“Well aren’t you lucky,” Bob retorted, playfully shoving Frank. 

“I heard some girl last period talking about it, saying her family has been having like...brownouts and shit? And their phones are all messed up,” Ray commented with raised brows. Frank looked at him, rolling his eyes. He kicked a crumpled paper ball to the other side of the hallway. The conversation was dropped as they all sat down for class. Bob still looked like he wanted to talk about it, nervously tapping his foot. Frank tried to listen to what people were saying throughout class, oddly enough he did catch a conversation between two girls sitting next to him. They were complaining about not being able to call each other, because of the electricity issues that was going on throughout the entire block. He adjusted himself in his seat, glancing at the girls. They stopped talking when the teacher cleared his throat and continued with the lesson. Frank stared blankly at the chalk board ahead of them, listening for any other news about the phenomena that’s infected the town. Nobody said anything more about it.

By the end of history he was struggling to stay awake and contemplating skipping the rest of the day to go home to nap. He shoved the idea out of his head as the bell rang and the class shuffled out into the halls. He heard talking again, about the brownouts. Two geeky looking freshmen behind the trio talked in hushed voices. Frank’s stomach growled and he struggled to focus on the exchange happening behind him. Something about the woods, the woods behind the Dogwood Drive cul de sac, the woods that nobody goes into because it's incredibly haunted. Frank stopped focusing on the freshmen behind him and looked to his two friends as they walked to their shared lunch period. Frank separated from his friends to join the line for the snack bar. His hand ran through dark messy hair as he asked for two packages of pop tarts and plain potato chips. After paying he hurriedly walked to the usual table he sat at, sitting next to Bob who was stuffing his face with a hot dog. 

“All right so,” Ray sat across from the two,” everyone is saying that the source of the weird shit happening is the woods.”

“Ray, there’s a lot of woods around here incase you haven’t noticed, be a little more specific?” Bob took a swig of his milk.

“The woods behind Dogwood, right?” Frank added, opening his second poptart baggie and taking a bite. “That shit is haunted, yo.” Frank brushed away the crumbs he spit out when he spoke. 

“Yeah dude, but what if we went in there. You know, found the source of the weird stuff, we’d return and be like, heroes or something” Frank saw Bob’s eyes nearly bug out of his head as he choked on his meal. Frank laughed, but Ray looked incredibly hurt. “I’m serious, we should totally check it out. Plus, we could shove it in people’s faces that we were cool enough to go into the woods that everyone’s afraid of.”

“I’m down,” Frank shoved the rest of his pop tart into his mouth and tore open his potato chips. 

“Are you guys serious ? What the fuck, dudes,” Bob furrowed his brows. “What if, instead of doing something stupid like going into the forbidden forest, we I dunno, didn’t?” Ray rolled his eyes and Frank punched his friend in the arm.

“Aw come on, are you really scared of some stupid ghost story? The only people who really believe it’s haunted are kids, people with an IQ of ten or senile old dudes who have been alive for too long,” Frank said through the potato chips in his mouth. Ray nodded in agreement, looking at Bob with pleading eyes.

“Come on man, pleeeaase? Thursday after school --”

“Tomorrow is Thursday, dumbass.” Frank wiped away fresh crumbs again.

“Tomorrow, we can set up a game plan and we can go to the woods. See what’s going on and then come back, stay at my place for the night and do whatever you want. I won’t let anything bad happen to you! Neither will Frank, right ?” He looked to the shorter of the three, and Frank agreed. It was silent for a solid minute, the only sound coming from the rest of the student body in the lunchroom. 

“Fine, whatever, but after we are ordering a large pizza-- two large pizzas! And we are watching whatever I feel like watching,” Bob caved, standing up with a huff and dumping his garbage into the can. Frank crumpled his bags and plastic and squeezed it in his fist before throwing his garbage away as well.

“Well it’s settled then,” Ray shoved his now empty lunchbox into his backpack, “after school come to my house. Bring like, flashlights and uhh maybe you should bring your knife, Frank. Just bring whatever you think is good for exploring in the woods.” The bell rang and students crowded the exit, shoving and shuffling into the halls. The trio waited until the foot traffic died down before leaving and dispersing into their rightful classes, not seeing each other again until the school day ended. Frank was exhausted by the time he left the school’s main entrance to wait for Ray by the road. A nap was definitely in order. He waved to Bob who pulled away in his Grand Cherokee, tapping his horn before speeding away. Ray hustled out of the school shoving papers into his bag as he walked to Frank.

“Man, physics is kicking my ass, and I mean, English too, but that's just because reading sucks balls.” Ray zipped up his stuffed Jansport, slinging it onto his back.

“Yeah but at least you don’t have gym for your last class of the day, I think I might be melting.”

“Aw, do you have to do that now ? I hate that shit, Frank.” The taller of the two complained as Frank pulled a cigarette from his pocket, rolling his eyes and lighting the end.

“Leave me alone, I’m stressed out,” he took a drag and exhaled away from his friend, “plus my mom would totally kill me if she caught me smoking within like, a hundred feet of the house--not that I give a shit. But if she grounds me I can’t go ghost-hunting with you and Bob tomorrow night…” He trailed off, Ray responded with a playful shove. Frank giggled, smoke coming from his nose as well as his mouth. He got through his cigarette quickly, throwing it to the ground and grinding it with his foot. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, man,” Ray shook his head, shaking his friend’s shoulders before departing and turning down his street. Frank waved goodbye and silently continued home. Once inside, he headed straight to his room and dumped his backpack onto his bed. Running a hand through his messy hair, he sighed and turned on his small TV before flopping onto his mattress. He rolled over, quickly falling asleep to the sound of rerun episodes of Unsolved Mysteries. Frank didn’t wake up until his mother came home, finishing a portion of his homework before she called him for dinner. They ate in silence for the most part, Frank asking how work went and his mother asking how school was. 

“School is okay, I guess,” he mumbled, stabbing a meatball before shoving the entire thing into his mouth. His mother nodded, swirling spaghetti around her fork. For a split second, Frank wanted to ask his mom if she’s heard anything weird. Did adults spread rumors at work like kids did in highschool? He decided not to say anything, just finished his meal while listening to his mother talk about her schedule for the rest of the week. “Oh, mom,” he began, getting up from his seat at the table,” I’m gonna spend the night at Ray’s place tomorrow, is that cool?” Frank set his plate in the sink after scraping the food remains into the garbage. He smiled when she nodded, swallowing the last bits of her food. “Cool.”

He found himself thinking back to the girls in class, talking about the woods like it was the gates of hell. Heading to his room, Frank pulled out one of his school binders. He finished his homework for the night, fingers drumming on the pages of his history textbook. Frank couldn’t help his thoughts returning to the woods. He stopped homework and tapped his pencil on the page. He could only recall the stories he’s heard about the Dogwood Drive woods vaguely, and there were very different tales and different reasons as to why nobody should ever go there. Ghosts, witches, “crazies” from a supposedly abandoned hospital that was at the other end of the forest, he’s even been told there was a sasquatch living in the woods once. A man-eating sasquatch. He’d never given it much thought, any of the stories, mostly because they were all incredibly stupid and made next to no sense. Frank snapped himself from his thoughts, speeding through the remaining homework he had. Haphazardly tossing his school items into his backpack, Frank shuffled off to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed.

Frank stared out the window blankly, lost in thought, before falling asleep. The leaves were just beginning to change, most of them a dull yellow or orange. Thankfully, not much had fallen to the ground yet and the raking season could be delayed for a few weeks. Frank felt a twinge of anxiety in his gut thinking about tomorrow. He wasn’t sure what they’d find, if they’d find anything at all in the first place. Maybe the woods weren’t even as big as people rumored them to be. Maybe the weird phenomena happening in town was just faulty telephone wires or something mundane like that. The voice of his mother saying goodnight from outside his door startled him and quickly brought him back to Earth. 

“Night, Frankie,” she called, briefly tapping on his closed door. 

“Night,” he called back. He shoved the anxious feelings away, setting his alarm clock for tomorrow. He pulled the covers up over himself leaving just his head poking out. He stared at the ceiling before closing his eyes and trying to relax. Rolling over, Frank let out a drawn out sigh before passing out for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so shout out to kelly / badmcrmemes / jcnathanbyers on tumblr for being a real pal and helping me a ton with this
> 
> my tumblr is witch-brat if you want to shoot me a message (please do I need motivation to keep writing)
> 
> ive never published any of my writing ever before so im very nervous and anxious,,, thanks for reading


	2. Chapter 2

For once in his life, Frank could not wait to get to school. He found himself walking with a bit more pep in his step, slipping out of bed with no problems. His mother was home, not working until later in the day. She’d actually made the two of them breakfast, which was a rarity. Frank scarfed his meal down quickly. He thanked his mom, giving her a tiny kiss on the cheek before slinging his backpack on and heading out the door. He walked as fast as his short legs would carry him, actually beating Ray to their usual meetup spot. Tapping his foot, Frank fiddled with the zipper of his jacket while waiting for his friend to join him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so alive at this hour,” Ray raised his brows as he arrived at the corner. Frank shook his head and laughed, “accidentally” bumping into Ray as they walked. “The neighbors were having weird stuff going on last night, or I mean I think so. Either they were having brown outs or maybe a wild party. I mean they are both like, probably 80, so I doubt it. We got a weird phone call too, I guess it was just static or something weird?”

“How come everyone is having cool shit happen except for me ? We don’t even live that far apart-- it’s no fair,” Frank whined as they stepped onto the school’s property. Maybe his mom had experienced weird things and just didn’t bother to tell him about it. Or maybe things were happening but only, conveniently, while both of them were out of the house. They shuffled through the busy entrance to the school, stopping at Ray’s locker briefly.

“Okay so, I was thinking last night,” Frank spoke, leaning against the locker next to Ray’s, “what if we don’t find anything at all? And we just come back like.... Cold and hungry and disappointed. I mean, what if it’s just some weird thing with the electricity pole shit.”

“You’re not flaking out on me, are you?”

“What? No ! Man I’m just thinking, this is pretty weird stuff. Like...movie stuff. Also, what if we die?” Ray shut his locker door, rolling his eyes before staring at Frank in silence. Frank raised his brows, completely serious.

“Nobody is going to die, dude. It’s just a forest,” Ray ruffled Frank’s already messy hair, “I’ll see you in History.” Frank slapped his friend away as the taller of the two disappeared into a classroom. Frank sat through his first class anxiously tapping his foot and frequently checked the clock on the wall. At this rate school would never end. He could swear the more he thought about school ending, the longer it took for just first period to end. Nearly ready to explode, Frank shot out of his seat as soon as the bell rang. He shuffled down the hall, trying to dodge the crowds to get to second period faster, but his travels were cut short when Frank felt a push on his back that sent him tumbling forward. He barely managed to catch himself from completely eating shit.

“What the fuck, man?” Frank turned around, scrambling to his feet. A smirking Kevin stood before him, covering his mouth with his hands dramatically.

“So sorry ! I didn’t see you, you were totally below my field of vision, Frankie” he said, voice oozing with sarcasm. He didn’t even know Kevin had the mental capacity to be sarcastic, as he generally opted for physical abuse instead of verbal. Frank turned away, mumbling a small “fuck off”. Kevin grabbed him and spun him around, staring down at Frank with an enraged expression. He braced for impact, relief flooding him when a familiar face shoved into Kevin and his greasy ape hands released Frank’s flannel. 

“Cool it, asshole,” James barked, spinning Frank around and shuffling him away. He turned to his friend as they narrowly avoided colliding with some freshmen nearly sprinting to their class. James stopped his friend at his locker, crumpled papers tumbling onto the floor. “What did you do to piss him off this time, dude?”

“Pretty sure the teacher kept him after class to tell him to use his fucking brain for once and he just took his frustrations out on whatever was in front of him,” Frank shook his head, smiling and fixing his hair. It crossed Frank’s mind to ask James about the woods, the weird stuff. James was a friend, for sure, but maybe it wasn’t worth getting him mixed into their dumb idea. Not to mention, James might not have even believed in this shit. He lived on the opposite end of town, nothing was happening there. Frank brought himself out of his thoughts, glancing at the floor then to his friend next to him. “Thanks for that, though. Definitely didn’t want to come home with a fucking black eye today.”

“Keep your nose clean, Frank Iero,” James warned, shaking his finger in Frank’s face. He shut his locker harshly, ignoring the papers that leaked out. Frank saluted his friend before walking away to his next class. His second period, study hall in the cafeteria, dragged on for even longer than first period. He finished all homework from his previous class, anxiously doodling in the back of one of his notebooks. Tapping his foot, Frank rested his chin in his hands and stared at the wall in defeat until the bell rang again. He made sure not to be seen by Kevin or any other air-headed asshole in the halls, adventuring in the woods wouldn’t work out if he got the shit beat outta him. Classes were slow and uneventful, and Frank was thankful lunch was next. 

“Dewees told me to make sure you don’t get shoved by any more assholes today,” Bob sat down with his tray, “what happened and why didn’t you say anything in History?” Frank shrugged, opening his bag of chips. Bob looked to Ray, raising his brows in hopes of some support.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know shit,” Ray threw his hands up defensively before digging into his own lunch. 

“Literally nothing happened, Kevin just pushed me in the hall after first period. It’s literally no big deal,” Frank said through his chips. The rest of their lunch was for the most part silent, Frank listened to Ray and Bob talking about their homework. The woods didn’t come up in conversation. It felt almost as if the three of them agreed without words to save the topic for after school. Frank didn’t mind. Lunch went by slightly, very slightly, faster than Frank’s other classes. He bid farewell to his friends as the bell rang, the three of them going their separate ways. 

The closer the school day was to being over, the slower time went. By the time his last class began, Frank was dragging his feet just to make time pass by quicker. He flopped into his seat, flipping through textbook pages. He didn’t even bother pretending to read the book at this point, flipping through the same 12 pages over and over again until the teacher handed out an assignment. He skimmed through the book for the answers to the homework for the last 10 minutes of the class, scribbling things down before shoving it into his binder. He shot out of his seat when the bell rang for the last time and sped down to his locker to dump things he didn’t need and grab things he did. He and Ray were practically flying back to their houses, their feet couldn’t carry them fast enough.

“Hey man, see you in a bit, I gotta stop back at my place and grab uh--whatever the fuck I need. What did I need again?” Frank stopped at their usual departure spot, running a hand through his hair as he tried to remember what Ray told him to bring yesterday.

“Uh… flashlight, your knife ? And uh, I think that was it…” Ray trailed off, scratching his head through his afro.

“I’ll figure it out, I’ll see you in like half an hour dude,” Frank slapped the stop sign on the corner before dashing off towards his house. He could hear Ray laugh before walking off towards his own place. Frank couldn’t have gotten home fast enough. He threw his bag onto his bed, unzipping it and dumping the contents onto his bed. He wasn’t sure what to bring, the list Ray gave him felt so short for a possible ghost-hunting adventure in the woods. The TV on his dresser shook from how hard he pulled open the drawer, searching around for his knife. His knife was small, a simple fold out pocket knife he’s had for probably forever. Frank scratched his head after shoving it into his backpack, pacing around the room. He wasn’t even sure that he owned a flashlight, though there had to be something in his house. Pushing the flashlight ordeal from his head temporarily, Frank searched his closet for a hoodie-- incase it got cold. This time of the year nights were freezing, and it was better to be safe than sorry. He crumpled his biggest, softest hoodie into a ball and shoved it into his backpack, throwing in another pair of socks too. Nothing else came to mind. 

He found a flashlight in the kitchen drawer both he and his mom unofficially deemed the “junk drawer”. Flicking it on and off, Frank deemed it working. He turned to leave the kitchen, pausing before turning back around. Maybe he should bring a snack? After buzzing through every cupboard of the kitchen and coming up with nothing, Frank abandoned the idea. He hustled back upstairs to his room, tossing his flashlight into his backpack and zipping it back up. Flashlight, knife, hoodie, socks. Flashlight, knife, hoodie, socks. Flashlightknifehoodiesocks. The list rattled around Frank’s brain, coming up short with anything else he should add. He figured if he forgot anything, Bob and Ray would have it. Slinging on his backpack, Frank adjusted his flannel and tightened the shoelaces to his beat up black Converse before heading outside. 

A bitter September wind whipped his hair and flannel around as Frank hustled to Ray’s house. Definitely a good thing, bringing his hoodie. The sun was still out, hidden by clouds and everything had a dull, grey tone to it. Frank rounded the corner, hands shoved in his pockets as he approached Ray’s house. He didn’t even have to knock, Ray must have seen him coming. 

“Bob here yet?” Frank asked as Ray held the door open for him, walking inside.

“No, you don’t think he’s flaking do you ? Should I call him?” Ray asked as the two of them headed towards the bedroom. Rolling his eyes, Frank told him not to worry about it. He greeted Ray’s parents on the way, a sudden pang of anxiety hitting him in the gut. He couldn’t figure out why, but he felt his insides twisting as he sat down on Ray’s bed. “Yo, what’d you bring Frank? You got your flashlight right?”

“Flashlight, knife, and uh…” he paused,” socks and a hoodie.” Ray chuckled, raising his eyebrows. “What! What if like I step in some nasty shit or it rains and my feet get soaked? Can’t be too prepared. Don’t judge the socks, dude. You got anything better?” He slid his backpack from his shoulders, staring at Ray. Ray picked up his backpack from the floor and tossed it on the bed. Unzipping it, Frank dumped the contents out. Flashlight, bug spray, another flashlight, flagging tape, a third, smaller flashlight, goldfish crackers-- “Wow, snacks. The real good stuff, right?” He laughed, “why so many flashlights dude?”

“I wanted a backup plan incase the first one dies, and a backup plan after that.” Frank shook his head, both of them laughing. “ ‘Kay well, Bob needs to get here quick, I’d rather not be out all night? Curfew and shit, you know?” He paced around, checking out his window to look at the driveway. “He’s here, gimme a second.” Ray disappeared, leaving Frank to himself briefly before returning with an extra person.

“Sup, b?” Frank greeted Bob, flopping back to lay on Ray’s bed. “You got anything better than three flashlights and a pair of socks?” Bob chuckled, dumping his back out on the bed. Frank sat up, examining what Bob brought. “Uh,” he fished through the various snacks and treats,”wow ! One flashlight, and um...a metric fuck ton of food. Good thinking, Bob!” Ray laughed while Bob reached and shoved Frank over.

“So are we going or not? We walking?” Bob asked, stuffing his snacks and flashlight into his bag. Frank sat back up, fixing his hair. Ray nodded, pulling a jacket on and grabbing his backpack. Frank followed suit, standing up. “I’m ready to eat some pizza when we come back,” Bob huffed, walking out of the room with confidence. Frank slipped his backpack on and the trio left the house. Outside, Frank buttoned his flannel up further, the temperature significantly dropping since school ended. The three of them walked back to the main street, towards school.

“Dogwood is off of Harrison Avenue, right?” Frank asked, “Also, slow the fuck down.” 

“Oh, I forgot, you got short ass legs,” Bob smirked, earning a punch in the arm and a literal kick in the ass from Frank. 

“Shut up, you’re lucky I like you, asshole.” Frank tugged on his backpack straps. The three boys slowed as they approached the end of the cul de sac. There were only three houses, and between two was a very faint trail heading into the woods. They stopped at the edge of the road, staring ahead at the clearly infrequently traveled trail. Old, grey and untamed trees loomed over the poorly kept lawns. Frank wasn’t even sure if anybody actually lived in these houses. The end of Dogwood was just as scary as the woods, children wouldn’t dare go near the houses on the circle on Halloween despite the house lights being on and decorations being out. Crossing his arms, Frank huffed and nudged Bob next to him. “Any last words, boys?” Frank stepped forward, looking to his friends.

“Nobody is dying, dude,” Ray shook his head, stepping onto the pale and crunchy grass below him. He headed to the poorly defined trail, followed by Frank and Bob. Stopping at a small tree on the edge of the forest, Ray slid his bag off and unzipped it to pull out his marking tape.

“Really?” Bob furrowed his brows, “you’re gonna mark the trail?”

“Have you seen this trail? There’s no way we’d make it back on our own especially when it gets dark, asshole,” Ray tied a ribbon on the branch, putting his bag back on and keeping the roll of tape in his hand. “Let’s go.” They walked single line down the trail until it became barely recognizable, Ray leaving plentiful amounts of markers. They were all, for the most part, silent while treading through the forest. It was hard to hold conversation while having to focus on not busting your ass by tripping over a root or stone. The sun was starting to finally go down, the sky turning a warm orange and pink mix and casting a classic autumn glow on the woods. It all looked the same save for some long since abandoned forts built by kids and one swampy pond. Frank stopped moving, sitting on a large rock and letting out a dramatic sigh.

“I’m starting to get the idea that we are doing this shit for nothing, this is literally the same as any woods in town.” Bob huffed, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. Frank looked to Ray, feeling similarly to Bob. They’d been walking for at least ten minutes, which is forever when you’re walking in shitty woods with a shitty trail.

“Look, even if we don’t find any ghosts or cool shit. I know for a fact that there is an abandoned building in-” he pointed,” that direction. Pretty sure it’s a uh, like an insane asylum or something. They put all the crazies from upstate in there, and then the building got shut down over some scandal of like...illegal experiments I’m pretty sure.” Frank and Bob exchanged glances. The shorter of the three hopped off his rock and stretched. Leaves rustled and danced across the ground as the breeze picked up, temperature dropping as the sun descended. Bob dropped his backpack to the ground, pulling out his flashlight. “Let’s just keep going, maybe the spooky stuff will start happening once it’s dark.” Frank could hear a tiny “whatever, dude” from Bob as they started trekking again. The boys didn’t stop shuffling through the woods until they came across a split in the overgrown trail, one leading to a nearby clearing. Frank took off towards the clearing without words, Ray and Bob chasing after him. 

“Woah,” Frank stopped after nearly tripping on a stone hidden by tall grass. He stepped back, quickly pulling a flashlight from his bag. The clearing was illuminated by flashlights, revealing what must have been a centuries old cemetery. “Um,” he shined the light on the rock -- headstone, “oh.” Frank squatted and tried to read the text on the stone as Ray and Bob explored the graveyard. Everything was worn by time, barely readable. He couldn’t even make out a name, just the years. 1882-1901.

“Yo this is some weird shit,” Bob bent down to read a tall headstone,”maybe there’s ghosts around here? You think anybody knows this is here?” Ray spun around, hands on his hips as he looked over the scene. Frank stood up and moved to another headstone, which was nearly completely tipped over. 

“This would be a sweet party spot,” Bob laughed. Frank shoved his flashlight in his elbow to rub his hands together. The three of them wandered quietly before Ray snapped his head towards the main trail.

“Did you hear that?” 

“...No?” Frank squinted at Ray. A loud crunch and thump came from the woods. Bob cursed, eyes wide. A branch snapped again and Ray started walking to the trail, flashlight shaking in his hands. Bob followed Frank, who was close behind Ray.

The three collectively stopped at the sight of a stranger in a hospital gown before them. They collectively looked to each other before turning and gawking at the boy who was shivering intensely. The stranger squinted their eyes and scrunched up their face to shield themselves from the three bright lights shining on their face. Frank moved his light up and down, examining them. They couldn’t have been much older than Frank and his friends, although they obviously hadn’t showered in days and were caked in dirt.

“Um,” Bob began, voice barely above a whisper, “Frank, where the fuck is your knife?” Frank fumbled, dropping his flashlight to pat his pockets.

“It’s... it’s in my bag.”

“What the fuck kind of good would having a knife in your bag do ?! Why didn’t you put it in your--” Bob reached over and shoved Frank who aimed to retaliate, startling the boy before them. The wind picked up and the stranger shivered, looking increasingly alarmed. Ray put an end to the commotion, slapping Frank’s raised fist. He abandoned the idea of revenge and picked up his flashlight.

“Guys, be cool” Ray looked to his friends before stepping forward, arms out as if he were taming a wild horse. The stranger wasn’t very impressed, if anything, they were even more scared. “Um, are you lost or…?” They flinched at Ray’s words, “it’s okay, I’m Ray. This is Frank and that’s Bob, uh, what’s your name?” No response. Leaves rustled and fluttered as the wind picked up momentarily. 

“Maybe they can’t hear you?” Bob suggested, pulling his jacket tighter, “yo, I think they’re like one of those crazies like you were talking about Ray. Like from the asylum?”

“Should we call the cops?” Frank stared at the gown-clad boy, brows furrowed. 

“What? No just um…” Ray scrunched up his face in thought,” maybe we should...uh, a-are you lost?” He asked again, voice louder and clearer. The boy stepped back, shaking his head slowly. “Oh, so you can hear.” He looked back to Bob and Frank, obviously out of ideas. “Okay well, we can’t just leave ‘em here… Ideas, please ?”

“Okay uh, fuck, let’s just take them back and they can stay at my place for one night. Then we go from there?” Frank offered, conflicted. He’d be in so much trouble with his mom if he was caught with some stranger in his house, let alone an escapee from a looney bin. He pulled his hoodie out of his backpack and held it out to the boy. They didn’t seem to take the hint, gaze going from Frank to the item in front of him. 

“It’s a hoodie…You wear it.” Frank unfolded the hoodie and stepped closer to put it on for them. They tensed, eyes shut as if it were painful as Frank slowly put the hoodie over their head. After realizing that this wouldn’t kill or maim them, the stranger pushed his sleeves through the arm holes and stared blankly at Frank. It fit them decently, better than it did Frank. They silently adjusted the hood and fixed their long, dark hair. “Okay, let’s uh-- let’s go.” They all turned to walk back, save for the stranger, who either wasn’t grasping the concept of go or was unsure. Frank hoped they wouldn’t take off with his nice hoodie. “Here,” Frank held out his hand,” you’ll be safe, okay?” Ray and Bob watched hesitantly. They took Frank’s hand in theirs, fingers cold and clammy. They began their walk back through the woods, Frank never letting go of the boy’s hand. It had to have been 9 or 10 when they reached the road, everyone feeling tired and cold.

“Well I guess it was a good thing I used those tape markers, huh?” Ray was grinning with his hands on his hips. Bob rolled his eyes and shoved into him, a bit too cold to put in much effort. Frank looked to the boy, whose lips were blue and teeth were chattering. He wondered how long they were out there for, how long could someone even last in the woods with nothing on them but a hospital gown? The group padded down Dogwood and onto Harrison, eventually reaching the main street in town. A lone car buzzed past them and the stranger nearly jumped out of their skin, hand clamping down on Frank’s. 

“It’s okay,” he reassured them, internally screaming at the pain in his hand. The boy relaxed their grip, nodding and continuing. The group stopped at the corner which Frank and Ray usually joined and departed on their way to school. They weren’t sure what to say at this point.

“So...school tomorrow?” Bob asked cautiously. Ray nodded at him before they both turned to Frank, eyeing the boy attached to him.

“Um…” Frank paused, thinking hard, “I don’t know, probably not.” It was just one day, he’d make up the work easily. Ray clapped his hand on Frank’s shoulder before turning down his street with Bob. Frank looked to the boy, who was intently watching the two as they walked down the street. “C’mon,” he took a step towards his house, squeezing the boy’s hand, “my house is this way.” 

They stopped just at the door, both of them shivering now. He had to stop, and think this through. His mom was definitely home, but he couldn’t tell if she was up and watching the TV or if she was in bed. Biting his lip, Frank pulled a key from under a potted plant and unlocked the door. 

“You have to be quiet, okay?” Why did he even say that. He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. Obviously they would be quiet. Frank internally smacked himself as he opened the door and ushered the boy inside. Their eyes went wide as they entered Frank’s house, the stranger taking time to observe every thing in every room. Frank didn’t mind showing him around, but now was a bad time. The two of them stopped in the living room, and Frank wasn’t sure whether his room or the basement would be a better idea to stow his friend away. He opted for the basement, and opened the door leading down the stairs. Flicking on the light at the top of the staircase, Frank led the boy downstairs.

“Do you want to sleep on the couch and I’ll go upstairs or I can set up a bunch of blankets and sleeping bags for both of us and stuff? Um…” He trailed off, grabbing folded blankets from the couch back and arms. There was no answer. Figures. “We can stay down here, my mom thinks I’m at Ray’s house anyways so we can just hide out until she goes to work in the morning then uh, I’ll show you around I guess.” Silence. Frank opened a small closet door and pulled out three sleeping bags. He moved a small table over to create a space on the floor, unzipping one sleeping bag completely and spreading it on the floor. The boy stood awkwardly near the stairs, examining the room and watching Frank. On top of the opened sleeping bag, he rolled out the other two bags, throwing pillows down and layering blankets on top.

“Take your pick,” Frank offered, the boy didn’t move. They stood staring at each other until their silence was interrupted by the sound of a stomach growling. “Oh, you must be hungry. Um... “ Frank furrowed his brows, “wait here, I’ll grab you something from upstairs.” The boy looked alarmed as Frank stepped onto the stairs, grabbing his hand to hold him here. “I’ll be back, I promise. Five minutes, okay?” They hesitated before nodding and releasing their hold on Frank, who moved up the stairs as quietly as he could. Frank came back downstairs with a plate full of pizza rolls to find the stranger sitting on top of the sleeping bag and blanket pile.

“Here,” he sat down next to them, setting the plate down and kicking his shoes off, “these are pizza rolls, have you had them before?” They shook their head, stomach growling again. Frank picked one up, shoving it into his mouth and scrunching his face up. “Hot, they’re hot!” he cried, chewing frantically before biting the bullet and swallowing it all. “Okay uh, just give them a minute...I didn’t think that through.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking up to see a small smile on the boy’s lips. Frank picked up another moments later, only eating half of the roll. The boy gingerly picked up a pizza roll, taking a small bite. Their eyes widened, obviously realizing how delicious Totino’s Pizza Rolls were, and they shoved the rest in their mouth. Smiling, they grabbed another and devoured the roll with a smile on their face. 

“If I ask you questions,” Frank began, eating a roll himself,” will you answer them?” They stopped chewing and stared at Frank before swallowing.

“Yes.” 

“Wow.” Frank’s eyes widened, that was much more progress than he thought they’d make tonight. The boy picked up another roll, nearly swallowing the food whole. “Well my first question was going to be can you talk, but I guess you already answered it. Cool. Um. So, what’s your name?” They looked down briefly before pulling up the sleeve of Frank’s hoodie to reveal a tattoo on their wrist. G07. “That’s not a name, did you do that yourself?” They shook their head. “Who did that to you?” 

“Bad.” They ate another roll, swallowing hard. Frank’s perspective of the situation shifted. They were running from something, or someone, which would explain the whole being found in the woods unprepared and terrified. Frank chewed his lip, thinking hard.

“Well, you can’t just go by that. It’s not a name. Are you sure you don’t have a real name?” They shook their head again, mouth stuffed with pizza roll. “Hmph, well we’ll just have to give you a new one. Something totally awesome. How ‘bout something that starts with a G?” The boy nodded slowly, still stuffing their face. “Something like… Gabriel? Or uh, Greg…” They frowned, shaking their head with disapproval. Frank tapped his finger on his chin, going through names in his head.

“Gerard?” Frank suggested with raised brows. They paused, chewing slowly in thought before looking to Frank and nodding. “Yes? Yes to Gerard?”

“Yes.”

“Cool,” Frank grinned, thrusting out his hand,”nice to meet you, Gerard.” They stared blankly at Frank’s hand, unsure of what to do. “It’s a handshake, you do it when you meet someone new. Here.” He took one of Gerard’s hands in his own, slowly shaking it up and down. 

“...Cool,” Gerard echoed, a tiny smile on their face as they ate the very last pizza roll.

“Uh, I’m going to go upstairs again and grab some clothes for you and change into pj’s, okay?” Gerard nodded and Frank moved towards the stairs again. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He gave Gerard a pair of old pajama pants and an oversized band shirt when he returned to the basement, wearing boxers and a band shirt himself. Handing the folded clothes to Gerard, they pulled off the hoodie and had their hands on the hem of the gown before Frank yelped.

“No! Wait, wait--” They jumped and froze, hands letting go of their gown. Frank turned around, staring at the wall ahead of him. “Okay, now you can.” He wasn’t sure if they had underwear on or not, but he’d rather play it safe and not see his new weirdo roommate naked on their first night together. “Are you done?” Frank asked, not hearing clothes rustling anymore.

“Yes.” Frank turned around to see Gerard sitting on his sleeping bag, still wearing the hoodie over their pajamas. He removed the empty plate and set it on the couch seat next to them. 

“Do you want me to keep the lights on? I can turn them off and just leave the lamp over there on, if you don’t like the dark.”

“Lamp on,” Gerard said timidly. Frank nodded and turned the end table lamp on, moving to the light switch at the bottom of the stairs and shutting off the basement lights. He sat down on their makeshift mattress, slipping under the covers and into the sleeping bag. Gerard followed suit, letting out a small sigh. He could only imagine it was a sigh of relief.

“I bet you’re glad you aren’t sleeping in the woods anymore, huh? How long were you in there for?” Frank propped himself up on his elbow. Gerard shrugged.

“Don’t know.” Frank didn’t respond, just flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He yawned and pulled the blankets up to nearly cover his face, eyeing Gerard who was just awkwardly lying still. Maybe Gerard has never slept in a bed before--not that their floor mattress could compare to an actual bed. 

“Goodnight Gerard.”

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is frank's knife  
> https://66.media.tumblr.com/7c287c4a73b1dc79b2386cc13074b4f8/tumblr_messaging_od24vwSIIc1s9axto_250.jpg
> 
> also this chapter is significantly longer than the first (or i guess the first is really, really short). ideally the rest of the chapters are gonna be as long as this one
> 
> feel free to shoot me a message on my tumblr, witch-brat


	3. Chapter 3

Frank was relieved when he woke up to see Gerard still sleeping next to him. He was actually relieved to wake up at all, it would have sucked absolute ass to be murdered by someone he invited into his own house. Stretching, he sat up and kicked the blankets off of him, careful not to disturb Gerard. This must have been their first decent sleep in a while, Frank could imagine sleeping in the woods while supposedly being on the run would result in sleepless nights. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes after standing up and turning off the bedside lamp. The basement was still dark, the only source of light coming from one small window.

Figuring Gerard would stay asleep for a while, Frank turned to move upstairs to get breakfast until he remembered that he was supposed to be at Ray’s house. Groaning, Frank checked the small digital clock on the end table that read 8:55 AM. She should be leaving for work any time soon. He crept up the stairs, sitting near the top and listening for any motion coming from the other side of the door. There was shuffling and the clacking of heeled shoes on the kitchen floor. She must have been getting ready to leave. Frank put his head in his hands and waited to hear the shutting of the front door, dozing off. He didn’t open his eyes until he heard a tiny, panicked voice coming from the basement.

“Frank?” He nearly tumbled down the stairs trying to get to Gerard. They were sitting up and clutching the blankets around them with shaking hands.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” They didn’t reply, only nodding. Frank offered a reassuring smile. “My mom is leaving for work soon, then we can go upstairs and have breakfast, and I can show you around the house! I’ll even show you some of my music if you want.” 

“Music?”

“Yeah like, uhh,” Frank paused, “like The Misfits, David Bowie, Black Flag, The Beastie Boys, uh...Queen, The Bouncing Souls, stuff like that! You know those bands?” They shook their head, looking at Frank as if he was speaking in tongues. “I’ll show you, they’re real cool.” The front door slammed, signaling Frank’s mother had left for work. He grinned and took Gerard’s hand. “My mom left for work, let’s go get some friggin’ food. I’m starving.” Frank led them upstairs and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table. Gerard sat and fiddled with the hem of his sleeves, taking in his surroundings.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Frank asked, pulling out cereal for himself. No response. He turned around to see Gerard obviously not listening, staring off into the living room. “Gerard,” they snapped around to look at Frank, “what do you want for breakfast? We have uh, cereal and eggs and I can try to make you pancakes if you want. I’m kind of a shitty cook, though.”

“Pizza rolls”

“Uh, we kind of ate them all last night. I’ll get more today, or very soon, okay?” Gerard looked disappointed, but nodded. “To make it up to you, I’ll try and make you pancakes. Cool?” Another nod. Frank pushed his cereal box to the far end of the counter, grabbing a recipe book from the top of the fridge and flipping through it until he found the page he was looking for. He searched the cupboards, pulling out flour, baking powder, sugar, a small salt shaker and a large mixing bowl. Dumping everything together accordingly, Frank pulled the rest of the ingredients from the fridge and melted butter in the microwave. Gerard watched Frank carefully from his seat at the table. 

“Do you want to help me?” Frank suggested, pulling out two whisks from a drawer. He turned around to look at Gerard, who hesitantly nodded. “Okay, c’mere. I need you to take this whisk thing and stir up all of the dry shit-- carefully. ‘Cause if you get too wild you’ll get everything everywhere and we won’t have any pancakes to make. Cool?”

“...Cool,” Gerard took the whisk, staring down at the bowl before gently stirring around the powdery substance. Frank grabbed another bowl and dumped in milk, eggs and the melted butter and whisked it together. Gerard, satisfied with his mixing, stared at Frank blankly with the whisk in his hand. “Okay, good,” Frank slid the dry bowl closer to himself and gently poured the wet mixture into the large bowl, “do you want to whisk again for me?” Gerard seemed more eager to help, tongue sticking out of their mouth as they mixed together the ingredients until it was a bubbly sludge. Frank set a large pan out on the stove, turning it on and grabbing extra butter.

Once the stove was warm enough, Frank slapped a slice of butter onto the pan and grabbed two plates. Gently, he poured dollops onto the pan and Gerard’s eyes went wide as they sizzled and spread out. He’d obviously never had pancakes before, which was such a shame. Once the tops of the pancake bubbled, Frank flipped them over with care. 

“Can you grab some maple syrup from the fridge? It’s a tall skinny thing filled with brown...syrup, on the door.” Gerard turned silently and opened the fridge, examining everything inside before setting the maple syrup on the counter. Frank set some finished pancakes on Gerard’s plate, new dollops sizzling on the pan. 

“Here, this is yours,” Frank said, setting Gerard’s now fully stocked and buttered plate on the table,” I’ll grab you a fork and a knife. You can sit, bring the maple syrup with you.” Gerard clutched the syrup container and sat at his seat, unsure what to do when Frank placed the utensils in front of him. Frank sat down himself, watching Gerard. “I’ll show you, watch,” He took the maple syrup and soaked his pancakes, cutting into them with a knife and fork and stuffing his mouth. “You try,” he slid the maple syrup to Gerard, who copied Frank to a tee. “Like it?” Gerard nodded, cutting more pieces and devouring them.

Gerard finished their stack of pancakes long before Frank did, chin and fingers sticky from syrup. They watched Frank slowly finish breakfast in silence, unaware that their face was a mess. Frank grabbed a sheet of paper towel, wetting it and ringing it out before setting it down in front of Gerard. The boy stared at the soggy towel then Frank, looking for instruction. He rolled his eyes and picked up the sheet again, wiping off Gerard’s surprised face and hands. Frank set both of their plates in the sink, just for now. 

“Here, I’ll show you around. My house is kind of small and boring, though.” The two stood and made their way to the living room, which was decorated with an abundance of pictures and candles. “This is our TV, cool right? Oh and this is the VCR, we can watch a movie later maybe. We have a lot of horror movies, and kid movies. I think my mom has romance stuff but I hate that shit.” Frank took the remote from the coffee table and the TV flickered to life. Gerard stared at the screen, plopping down on the floor. Frank sat next to him, showing off the buttons below the screen. “You can change the channel with these,” he pushed a button, screen changing. Gerard was fascinated, eyes wide as he rapidly changed the channels.

“Cool.” 

The two of them sat quietly watching as Gerard fiddled with the buttons. They seemed to lose interest after running through every channel on the TV twice. Frank followed as they wandered around the room, opening the curtains and staring out at the street. 

“Can I ask you something? More questions, I guess,” Frank plopped down on the recliner. Gerard shut the curtains harshly and nodded, staring at the framed pictures sitting on an end table. 

“Where were you running from?”

“Bad place,” Gerard replied, sitting on the couch and holding a picture in his hands. A small boy, not any older than eight or nine, sitting in a pile of leaves. They crawled to the opposite end of the couch, holding the picture out to Frank. 

“That’s me, I was like….probably six. Fucking adorable, right?” Frank watched as they ran their fingers over the frame. “The um, the bad place. Is that in the woods?” They hesitantly nodded. Frank crinkled his nose, thinking hard. “Did they hurt you?” Gerard stared at the floor, fingers fiddling with the intricate picture frame in his hands. They didn’t answer, but by their reaction it was obvious that they weren’t treated like a prince. “Well you don’t have to go back to that shithole, ever! You’re safe with me, cool?”

“Cool,” they smiled and turned around to stare at the pictures hung on the wall. They showed particular interest in a picture of Frank’s mother, holding him as a baby. 

“That’s my mom, and me obviously, you’ll meet her soon. Not today, but soon.” Frank watched them scanning every picture on the wall. “Do you want to listen to music?” They nodded eagerly, following Frank closely as the both of them moved to the bedroom. Frank picked up discarded clothes and made a pile on the dresser. “You can make yourself at home, sorry my room is kind of...a wreck.” Gerard studied the room. The blue walls were littered with band posters, making the room feel small. They watched Frank sort through CDs and cassettes, humming to himself. He slapped a CD into the player and music started playing, quiet at first. Frank joined Gerard on the bed, subtly nodding his head to the beat. Gerard looked to him, copying his movements and smiling. “You like it?”

“Cool,” they grinned, bobbing their head to the tune of “I Want to Break Free”. Frank let another song play before switching CDs. The two of them listened to Frank’s favorite David Bowie songs before he switched the music again. They listened to The Misfits afterwards, then Black Flag. By the time they got to The Bouncing Souls, both of them were rocking out. Gerard was wildly headbanging and humming off-key and Frank played air guitar like a pro.

“I’ll show you my guitar after this song.”

“Guh-tar?” They furrowed their brows.

“Guitar. Gee-tar. You know, the instrument?” Frank demonstrated by playing his air guitar, getting a blank stare from Gerard. Frank rolled off of his bed and opened the door to his closet, pulling a guitar from a long black case. He sat on the bed with it, strumming and tuning. “It’s an Epiphone epi. Cool right? Used, but I got it in okay condition,” Gerard didn’t seem to care much, more interested in the sounds and Frank’s fancy fingers. Frank played some small riffs before turning more towards Gerard. “You want to try?” They shook their head, pointing to Frank.

“You play it.” He didn’t argue with the long haired boy, smiling and strumming a few chords. Gerard was absolutely in love with it, mesmerized by Frank’s speedy fingers dancing all over the fretboard. “Cool,” they murmured as Frank hummed along to the song.

“I’ve been thinking about writing my own stuff, you know,” Frank plucked the strings, “haven’t gotten very far with anything. Ray plays guitar too, and Bob plays the drums. Maybe we’ll put together something for you?” Gerard looked absolutely delighted. Frank set his guitar down, leaning it against the bed. “Did you like my CDs? Which did you like most?” 

“...First one,” Gerard said after thinking very hard. Frank smiled, though he was a bit disappointed they didn’t share a favorite band. “Play it again?” Gerard batted his eyelashes, pulling a very subtle puppy-dog pout. Frank slid off of his bed and played the CD, watching Gerard grin and dance around on the bed as the first song came into full swing. Gerard’s humming wasn’t so off-beat this time, though Frank didn’t mind when it was. It was just past noon by the time the entire album was finished, both of them just laying on Frank’s bed as the last song faded out.

“You want lunch? We can go out and buy some pizza rolls,” Frank turned to Gerard, who shot up in bed and nodded. Frank stood up, sorting through his pile of clothes. “We gotta get dressed first, okay? I’ll find you something to wear in a sec.” He pulled out a pair of jeans for himself and Gerard, hoping they’d fit them decently. Opening a drawer, he paused when he found his polaroid, which he’d thought was lost. Frank placed it on his dresser and continued to dig through his drawers for clean shirts. He managed to find a black band shirt for Gerard, and settled on dirty laundry for himself. The two got dressed without issue, Gerard putting the hoodie on over his shirt. Frank figured he’d never get it back.

They left the house after Frank snatched his wallet and stuffed it in his pocket. Gerard walked uncomfortably close, clutching onto him. He tapped the stop sign on his street corner as they turned into Main Street. He smirked as they passed the high school, front lawn littered with fallen leaves. 

“Did you go to school, at the bad place?” He turned to Gerard, who was warily eyeing the building across the street. They furrowed their brows in thought before shaking their head. “They never taught you anything ? Like how to read and shit. Can you read?” A nod. That was a relief. “Do you know like...math ? What’s nine plus ten?”

“Um...Nineteen.”

“Cool,” Frank nodded in approval. They silently walked closer into town and turned into a small grocery store just before the main intersection of town. The doors slid open and Frank led an enamoured Gerard into the store. They stared wide eyed as an employee greeted the two, hiding behind Frank. He nodded at the employee and dragged Gerard away, he’d rather not come into contact with any adults since he was supposed to be in school and not wandering about with a stranger attached to him. Gerard obviously wanted to explore every inch of the grocery store. Frank assumed this is the first time he’s ever been in one. It was a bit obvious from the wide eyed curiosity on their face and the fact that Frank had to drag them by the arm just to get to the frozen food section.

“You know, if I didn’t have to drag you, we’d get to eat these pizza rolls a lot faster,” Frank commented as he grabbed two boxes of Totino’s. Things went a bit faster after that. “We’ll come back another time and I’ll let you explore the entire store-- the entire town, if you want, but we need to hurry back ‘cause I’m technically not supposed to be here.” Gerard nodded as they approached the cash register. Frank dropped the boxes on the small conveyer belt, Gerard watching in astonishment as the food moved it’s way to the cashier. The middle-aged woman smiled and asked them if they found everything alright. Her voice was raspy and dry, and she smelled like she just got back from a smoke break out back. Gerard watched as Frank counted out his cash and handed it to the woman, who wished them a good day when she handed him change. Frank nudged Gerard and the two left the store in silence.

Gerard impatiently sat down at the table and tapped their foot while waiting for the pizza rolls. Frank drummed his fingers on the counter, watching the timer on the microwave count down. He turned and set down two glasses on the counter, filling one from the sink. The timer on the microwave went off, and as Frank turned to get the pizza rolls he elbowed one of their glasses off of the counter.

The glass didn’t shatter on the floor. It was suspended, hovering a good six inches from the floor. Frank yelped, eyes wide. Gerard, startled, lost his focus and the glass fell onto the floor. Frank stared at Gerard, breathing heavily in shock and confusion.

“UM,” Frank yelled, “what was that!? You-- was that you? That was you, what the fuck ! What the fuck…” Gerard said nothing, staring at the microwave instead of acknowledging Frank’s panicked shrieking. Frank gripped his hair, picking up the glass and nearly slamming it on the table. “Gerard,” they turned to face Frank, looking like a kicked puppy,” you...what did you do ? Do you have superpowers, you’re a superhero ? Are you an alien? What the fuck did you do?!” No answer. Gerard wasn’t making eye contact again, just staring at the floor. Frank inhaled, muttering to himself as he turned around and took out the hot pizza rolls. Pizza rolls would be the answer. He set down the plate and sat across from Gerard, watching as they tore into the pile of rolls. Biting his lip, Frank took a chance and swiped the empty glass off of the table. Gerard nearly choked on their roll, but the glass was hovering above the floor again in one piece.

“You did it again ! Gerard, what the fuck is going on.” Frank leapt out of his seat, hands in his hair.

“Stop doing that!” Gerard piped up, mouth full of Totino’s. The glass found its way back up to the table. Frank’s eyes were bugging out of his head.

“So, what are you ? Alien? Superhero? Supervillain?” Frank paced in a small circle before sitting back down and brushing back his hair. Gerard shook their head, avoiding eye contact. “Okay well, you have fucking super powers. That’s so fucking rad, so cool. What the fuck. Is that all you can do ? Dude, that’s so fucking cool. This is unreal.” He was too busy babbling to eat, Gerard didn’t mind. “Can you, like, move bigger shit with your mind ? Like people? Can you flip a car?” They blinked, swallowing their roll before pushing the plate towards Frank. Taking the hint, Frank rolled his eyes and stuffed his face as well. He’d return to the questionnaire after lunch. The two ate in silence, Frank internally screaming. 

“Okay,” he started, drying off the now clean plate. Frank set it back in the cupboard and turned to Gerard, who was nervously looking around. “Gerard, you-- you don’t realize how fucking awesome this is. How did it happen ? Were you like born with your powers? Or did you get them in an accident? Did somebody teach you? Is that why you were at the bad place?” Their face darkened, turning into a classic thousand-yard-stare. He was still talking, but Gerard didn’t seem to hear him anymore. Frank stopped his questions as he watched Gerard’s breathing quickened and the expression on their face looked more panicked. “Gerard…?” He moved to kneel before his friend, waving a hand in their face. They snapped out of their trance with a jump, eyes full of panic and fear. “Hey, woah...it’s okay. I won’t ask you any more questions about that stuff, alright? Do... you want to watch a movie?”

They settled on the couch together while Hocus Pocus started up on the TV screen. Gerard was still trembling, nervously picking at their nails. Frank felt bad, awful, like a total asshole. He scooted closer to Gerard, pulling down a blanket from the top of the couch and laying it across both of their laps. They didn’t stop picking at their nails. Frank took one of their hands in his and guided Gerard’s head until they were leaned on his shoulder. He murmured a tiny apology, rubbing his thumb across the top of their hand. Frank felt Gerard relax against him, and he felt a little better.

Gerard fell asleep right as Dani, Max and Allison lit the black flame candle. Frank smiled, shifting the two of them so Gerard’s head was in his lap. Gerard didn’t even stir. He couldn’t stop himself from running his fingers through Gerard’s long hair. The movie hummed in the background as Frank brushed their hair away from their face. They shifted suddenly, turning towards the couch and burying their face into Frank’s middle. He made sure to look at the time before nodding off.

He woke up to a sleepy Gerard playing with his hand. Frank smiled and yawned, rubbing his eyes when Gerard released his hand to stretch out. They looked much less afraid and stressed, which eased Frank’s guilty conscience. He still felt bad about pushing Gerard too far. Though he still had a million and one questions, Frank would go about asking in a different way. A much less interrogating and loud and intimidating way.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Frank ruffled Gerard’s bed head, “I’d ask you if you liked the movie, but you were asleep for the most of it. We can watch it again, though, if you want.” Gerard didn’t say anything, still half asleep. Frank looked to the clock on the wall, eyes bulging when he noticed the time. “Shit, Gerard, we gotta-- my mom will be home soon. We can hang out in my room, okay?” Frank shoved the blanket off of his lap. “You can sleep more up there if you want. I’ll bring some movies.” He moved to grab a random pile of movies as Gerard slowly stood up, clutching the blanket around him. They slowly made their way down the short hall into Frank’s room, the blanket dragging behind Gerard like a cape. 

Frank sat Gerard down on the bed before disappearing out of the room for a brief moment. He returned with a phone in hand, shutting the door and joining Gerard on the bed. They decided on another movie to watch, Drop Dead Fred. Gerard flopped over, head in Frank’s lap again while Frank dialed the phone. 

“Hey, Ray,” Frank held the phone to his ear while he played with Gerard’s hair again. They talked, for the most part, about school. Frank missed one quiz, a pop quiz in History. He was glad it wasn’t in math, because he’d be totally fucked if it was. Frank was secretly hoping Gerard would fall back asleep again, because he was dying to squeal to Ray about his recent discovery. Their eyes did fall shut again eventually, though Frank was pretty sure they weren’t completely sleeping. He told Ray about Gerard’s powers whether they were asleep or not, voice hushed. Frank didn’t go very much into detail, insisting that Ray and Bob had to come over to see it. 

Their phone call was cut short by Frank hearing the hard slam of his mother shutting her car’s door. He cursed to himself, slipping out of bed and waking up a disgruntled Gerard. They pouted, sitting up and tugging the blanket closer around themselves.

“Gee, my mom is home. I need you to hide. Just for a little while. Um, under my bed. Just for a little, okay?” Frank grabbed his backpack and dumped out his school work onto the bed. Gerard didn’t move, crossing their arms over their chest. “Gerard, please? Just-- just until my mom leaves my room, then you won’t have to hide. I’ll play you guitar, just please get under the bed.” They frowned and huffed, sliding onto the floor like a stubborn toddler. Frank’s mom called for him from the kitchen. He was panicking. Gerard reluctantly army crawled under Frank’s bed just as she opened the door to his bedroom.

“Hi, Frankie,” she breathed, a tired smile on her face.

“Hi mom,” Frank gave her a kiss and she squished his cheeks. He closed a textbook, pretending to abandon homework he didn’t have. “How was work?”

“Well, it was work, what can I say?” She said with a small chuckle, shrugging her shoulders,” I’m beat, Frankie. How do you feel about pizza for dinner?” Frank eagerly nodded, thankful he wouldn’t have to sit at the table with her for once. She gave him another kiss before taking the phone from his nightstand and leaving the bedroom. They exchanged quick “love you”s before she shut the door to his room. He waited for a minute before speaking.

“You can come out now,” Frank sighed. Gerard rolled out from under the bed, legs caught in the blanket. They untangled themselves and plopped next to Frank, who was putting away his school things. “Ray and Bob are coming over tomorrow. It’s Saturday so I won’t have to pretend I’m in school.” Gerard’s attention was on the TV screen once again. Frank didn’t bother them further, though he still had plenty of questions swimming around in his brain. 

“What are moms like?” They asked, still staring at the screen.

“Well,” He stammered, mouth gaping open and shut like a fish out of water. “Moms are like….I dunno, they’re moms. They tuck you in when you’re little, give you kisses and uhhh,” Frank paused,” they pinch your cheeks, like this.” Frank reached out and pinched Gerard’s cheek. They slapped away Frank’s hand, giggling. “They make you food when you’re hungry and they take care of you. You know?” He knew Gerard didn’t know, the concept was completely foreign to them. Their growing silence was broken when Frank’s mother called him out to get pizza. “I’ll be right back, okay? I’m coming back with dinner.”

Frank returned with a plate stocked full of pizza and a smile. He was glad his mom didn’t question the absurd amount of pizza he took. Gerard seemed to brighten at the sight of food. He set the plate down on the bed and they both took slices. Gerard seemed hesitant, watching Frank take a bite before doing the same. The movie ended just as they finished their food. He set the plate on his nightstand and reached for his guitar, strumming and plucking. Just as Frank promised. Gerard was absolutely delighted. 

“Just so you know,” Frank said over the ringing of his guitar, “ at some point tonight we’ll have to sneak back downstairs, but we can do it after my mom goes to bed. She’s working again tomorrow, so we won’t have to wait super long. You’ll probably have to hide under my bed again when she comes to say goodnight, though.” He played through some riffs and progressions. Gerard was only half listening to what Frank was saying.

Frank’s mom did return, knocking on his door to tell him she was going to bed. Frank shoved Gerard onto the floor urgently, coughing over the yelp they let out as they rolled under the bed. She ended up not opening the door at all. Frank felt like an asshole once again.

“Love you, Frankie. I’m working early tomorrow, but I’ll be home early enough to make something nice for dinner.”

“Okay, love you,” Frank stared at the bedroom door,” night mom.” He exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding after he heard her walk away. Gerard was out from under the bed again, glaring at Frank. “I’m sorry ! I thought she was coming in. Don’t kill me, or like, smash something over my head with your freaky powers okay? I’m sorry.” They huffed and climbed back on the bed, pointing to the guitar.

“Play more,” they demanded. Frank played until his fingers ached, not even aware of the time. Gerard was sitting up, obviously sleepy but still nodding along to the music. He set the guitar down on his bed, yawning.

“Are you ready for bed?” Frank asked, standing and sliding his jeans off. He picked up Gerard’s pajama pants and shirt, tossing it onto the bed. Gerard didn’t respond, changing themselves and pulling Frank’s hoodie back on. Frank laughed when he turned around. “You know, you’ll have to take it off eventually.” He peered out of his bedroom door, making sure his mom wasn’t up in the kitchen or anything. “C’mon,” he led Gerard across the hall and down the stairs. Their makeshift bed was untouched on the floor, just as they’d left it. Frank and Gerard exchanged quiet and tired “goodnights” as they both slid under the covers, passing out in minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the pancake recipe i used lmao  
> http://allrecipes.com/recipe/21014/good-old-fashioned-pancakes/
> 
> come say hi on my tumblr witch-brat do not be shy!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

They woke up against each other, tangled under the blankets. Frank didn’t mind. Except he kind of did, because Gerard did not smell great. Neither did he. Both of them were greasy and overdue for a shower. The clock read 9:12AM and Frank found it safe to assume his mother was gone by now. He gently pulled Gerard off of him and slid out of bed, heading upstairs to the bathroom. Hearing a shift coming from behind him, Frank paused and turned around to make sure Gerard wasn’t waking up. They curled up, pulling all of the blankets to themselves.

He returned to the basement with an overflowing laundry basket full of dirty clothes. Frank set it down next to the washing machine at the far end of the room. Gerard shifted again and sat up slowly. They looked around the room, though Frank was pretty sure their eye’s weren’t even open. He smiled and they wordlessly shuffled over to him, plopping down on the floor.

“We’re showering today, ‘cause both of us smell like ass. You especially smell like ass and also the forest,” Frank said as he haphazardly sorted the laundry. He was never very good at this. 

“What are you doing?” They stared at Frank from the floor, wrapped in a mountain of blankets. 

“Laundry, our clothes smell bad too.” Frank dumped in the pile he deemed “darks” into the machine. “I need your hoodie,” Gerard looked offended, holding the blankets around them tighter. “Gerard, it needs to be washed, and you’ll get it back after like an hour or so.” Pouting, they reluctantly shed their blanket cape and pulled off Frank’s hoodie. He tossed it into the pile, dumping in detergent and starting the machine. Frank helped Gerard to their feet, lingering before the two let go of each other. “We’ll have breakfast and then shower, cool?”

“Pizza rolls!” 

“No pizza rolls,” Frank rolled his eyes as the two walked upstairs. They both settled for cereal. Gerard ate silently, swirling the cereal around the bowl. Frank was secretly hoping they’d do something extraordinary like yesterday. Not that they weren’t extraordinary just like this, eating cereal silently at the opposite end of the table.

“What?” Frank was snapped out of his stupor by Gerard. 

“Oh uh,” he swallowed,” nothing. Just daydreaming.” He felt his cheeks burning. They didn’t look convinced, but went back to eating. Frank finished his cereal and dumped it in the sink. Gerard finished soon after, pushing back the empty bowl and waiting for Frank to do the dirty work. He obliged, putting Gerard’s bowl next to his. “I don’t need to show you how to bathe yourself, right?” They shook their head and Frank was relieved.

They moved upstairs and Gerard peeked into the bedroom belonging to Frank’s mother. Frank pulled out two towels and set one on top of the closed, fur-covered toilet seat. Gerard stood awkwardly behind him, unsure of what to do. He pulled back the bright pink shower curtain, pointing to two knobs under the showerhead.

“This one is hot,” Frank put his hand on one,” this one is cold. This is all of the shampoo and shit we have.” He motioned to a rack hanging on the shower wall. “I’ll turn it on for you.” Frank wasn’t sure Gerard was paying full attention, . He turned on the shower and pulled the curtain across. “Don’t take forever, okay?” He moved to leave the bathroom, but Gerard grabbed his arm. They didn’t say anything, staring at Frank with a panicked expression. “Wh-- I’m not leaving, okay? Here, um… I’ll stay outside the door and keep it open a bit.” They seemed satisfied and released their grip on Frank. He flashed them a reassuring smile and stepped outside, leaving the door open by a few inches. “Just yell if you need me, cool? And I left you a toothbrush on the sink-- the red one!”

“Cool,” they murmured, shedding their pajamas and gingerly pulling the shower curtain back. Frank sat down on the carpeted floor, tapping his fingers on his thighs to a beat playing in his head. He was half-listening to the sounds in the bathroom, just incase. Frank could faintly hear humming through the sound of running water. He couldn’t recognize the tune, but Frank didn’t mind. He thought Gerard’s voice was pretty nice, even if he botched lyrics to a song or hummed off-key. They didn’t stop humming until the water was shut off and the curtain was slowly pulled back. A moment later, Gerard opened the door with a towel wrapped around their body. 

“You didn’t use up all the hot water, right?” Frank joked with a smile. They shook their head. Frank made a mental note to explain jokes and sarcasm in the future. “Do you want to wait here or do you want to go to my room? You can put on your PJs for now, I’ll give you clean clothes after the laundry is done.” They wrinkled their nose in thought as Frank handed them the bundle of clothes.

“Wait here,” Gerard decided. Frank nodded and the two switched places. He turned on the shower again and stripped. Hopping into the shower, Frank couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief when the warm water hit his skin. He lathered his hair, giving himself a mohawk that flopped over. Admittedly, Frank spent longer than necessary in the shower. He stood silent and dazed, thinking about nothing while standing under the hot water. After he’d had enough of daydreaming, Frank shut off the water and stepped out onto the soft, slightly damp and fuzzy bath mat. He wrapped a towel around himself after roughly rubbing his hair with it. He made sure to brush his teeth as well.

“Gerard? I’m done,” Frank opened the door after pulling on his clothes to find Gerard sitting on the floor, dressed in their pajama pants and shirt. Frank offered his hand, helping them to their feet. “Your hoodie is probably ready to go in the dryer, let’s go switch the laundry.” Gerard nodded. The two walked downstairs and into the basement. They took a seat on the couch and watched as Frank moved one bundle of laundry into the dryer and loaded another into the washer. His mother would be so proud of him if she saw him now, he’s never done this much laundry in his entire life. Frank smirked to himself as the two machines buzzed to life. He turned to face Gerard, crossing his arms and leaning against the washing machine.

“Do you like hot chocolate?” They shrugged, and Frank smiled. The two of them moved upstairs, Frank sitting them down in the kitchen as he pulled out a kettle from the cupboard. He filled it with water and heated it up, leaning against the counter. “Most people make it with milk, but I just do it with water ‘cause milk makes me sick,” he wasn’t sure Gerard was listening,” after the hot chocolate is done, we can go upstairs and watch a movie until Ray and Bob come over.”

“Cool.” The kettle began to scream as the water reached a boil, Gerard stared at it with wide eyes and an alarmed look. Frank couldn’t hide his laugh as he moved the kettle and pulled out a container of powder. Gerard was very happy the screaming stopped. Frank, after putting together their drinks, set two mugs down at the table. 

“It’s really hot, you should probably wait a minute. Let’s go to my room.” Gerard carefully held their hot mug, sniffing the steaming drink. They set their drinks down on the end table and Frank popped in a movie. The two of them watched Labyrinth, silently sipping their hot cocoa. Gerard was watching attentively, as was Frank, though he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward every time he saw David Bowie dancing around in those pants. Gerard didn’t seem to be phased by it at all. Frank slipped away once to do the laundry. Gerard was beaming when they saw Frank holding the hoodie. 

“I have clean clothes for us, finally,” Frank dumped a pile of clothes onto an unoccupied corner of the bed. Frank picked out clothes for himself, bundling them up into a ball. He grabbed a clean pair of boxers he hoped would fit Gerard, and flung it towards their feet. They were a bit taller than him, but just about as skinny. Frank figured being on the lamb left small amounts of time to find food, which probably wasn’t healthy. “You can pick out whatever you want from the pile. One of these days I’ll have Bob drive us to the mall, and we can get you clothes of your own.” They set down their nearly empty mug and sorted through the clothes, only grabbing a pair of baggy jeans after inspecting it. “No shirt ?” Frank raised a brow. Gerard shook their head, gripping the hoodie tightly.

The two of them changed into their respective outfits just in time. The doorbell rang and Frank assumed it would be Ray and or Bob. Or Jehovah’s Witnesses, though they were a rarity. He opened the door, Gerard standing sheepishly behind him, to see Ray’s cheery face and fro. 

“Home to ourselves! We should have a party,” Ray entered the place as if he lived there, which, he kind of did. Out of all houses, the trio generally opted to hang out at Frank’s. Ray said because it’s the cleanest and it’s just Frank and his mom, but Bob said it was because Frank has a cool mom who knows how to cook bitchin’ food. Frank couldn’t argue with any of these points. “Hey, you’re still around? Haven’t you gotten sick of Frank yet?” Gerard didn’t seem to understand that Ray was joking, and looked a bit offended before shaking their head wildly.

“Oh um… This is Gerard, by the way.” Frank motioned to the dark haired boy next to him.

“Oh, well, nice to meet you, Gerard,” Ray nodded, doing a mini curtsey. The three of them moved into Frank’s room, Gerard sliding onto the bed and Frank sitting next to them. “Wow...you did laundry?” Ray scratched his head, looking comically surprised. Frank slapped him on the arm, making Ray squeal.

“I’m a big boy! I do chores,” Frank crossed his arms in a full pout. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, all of a sudden you care so much about cleanliness. You’re just trying to impress your new boyfriend, huh?” Frank slapped him again. Ray playfully punched him in the arm, giggling. 

“Don’t make it weird, you ass. Where is Bob at?”

“He said he was gonna be a little late. Also, how the fuck did you know their name is Gerard? They don’t talk… Do you talk?” Ray was looking to Gerard now. Both of them stared at each other silently.

“Yes.” Ray’s brows shot up so quickly Frank thought they would leave Earth. Frank was beaming and he couldn’t stifle a laugh. “What?” Gerard looked to him in confusion.

“Nothing, Ray just looked like he sharted.”

“Sharted?” Gerard furrowed their brows, Frank’s giggles halted and now Ray was laughing. Frank opened his mouth, trying to think of an explanation that wouldn’t seem absolutely disgusting.

“I’ll um, tell you later,” Frank stammered, and there was a knock on the door just in time. Frank was grateful. He dashed out of the room and returned with Bob in tow. It wasn’t exactly cramped, but with four people inside his room it was less than comfortable. Gerard was tucked up near the head of Frank’s bed, knees to their chest. “Alright so… now that I’ve got you all here,” Frank pulled out a few pieces of paper from his backpack, crumpling them into balls, “be prepared… to be fucking amazed!” He tossed them into the air, everyone in the room watching as they fell onto the bed and floor. Bob snorted.

“Gerard,” Frank held the balls in his hand, ready to toss them again. They watched Frank, looking a bit unsure as to what he was doing. He threw them into the air, looking a bit disheartened when they fell once again. Bob snorted again and Frank shot him a death glare. “Gerard, just...make them float like you did the cup, okay?” They stared at him blankly. Frank threw the balls into the air again and Gerard turned their attention to the hem of their hoodie sleeves. Bob was laughing now, Ray stood silently leaning against Frank’s dresser. 

“I knew you must have been high or some shit when Ray told me about their powers!” Bob picked up a paper ball that fell to the floor, tossing it at Frank. Frank tried to laugh it off, though it was very obvious he was a little hurt by Bob’s lack of faith in him. Bob playfully shoved Frank and he didn’t even bother returning the favor. Gerard frowned, they weren’t having any of it. The three boys all yelped when Bob found himself being shoved roughly, falling on his ass. They all turned their attention to the boy on the bed, who was glaring at Bob.

“Jesus Christ” Ray’s jaw dropped. 

“Uh, your nose… Gerard. You’re bleeding,” Frank looked around the room urgently for a tissue. They touched a finger to the drop of blood that leaked to their lip, smearing it. Ray moved to help Bob up, who couldn’t stop staring at Gerard.

“Remind me not to piss you off,” Bob rubbed his ass. Gerard relaxed, returning to their usual state. They dabbed their nose gently and wiped the blood away. Frank was smiling again, this time laughing at Bob. 

“I don’t really know what to fucking say, um,” Ray was shaking his head in disbelief, “that was fucking cool ! I mean, sorry Bob, but that was fucking awesome.” Bob didn’t seem to find it as cool as Ray and Frank did. He’d definitely been knocked down a few notches. “Can you do like… other stuff? Like obviously Bob and the cup thing, but like… could you flip a car?”

“That's what I said!” Frank flapped his hands. Gerard wasn’t looking at any of them, but they shrugged. 

“Okay but...does your mom know you’re harboring a weird kid with superpowers? Who is probably a fugitive?” Bob huffed.

“I’m working on it… I need to perfect my plan.” Frank didn’t have semblance a plan. Ray sat back down on the corner of the bed. Gerard was getting a little weirded out by the amount of staring both Ray and Bob were doing. Frank took the discarded tissue and paper balls and tossed them in the trash next to his nightstand. 

“I feel like we need to do something, not like about Gerard--”

“Gerard?” Bob asked, puzzled. Ray and Frank simultaneously motioned to the long haired boy on the bed.

“My name,” Gerard frowned. Frank made another mental note to convince them that Bob wasn’t an evil monster asshole later tonight. Bob seemed just as surprised as Ray was when he heard Gerard speak. An awkward silence fell over the three, nobody was very sure as to what to say. 

“So, you guys wanna go to the fair?” 

“What?” Frank turned to Ray. 

“Well I mean, the fair is in town. And it’s not like there’s any other shit to do…”

“I’m down,” Bob shrugged. Frank let out a dramatic sigh before turning to Gerard, who seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. 

“Gerard,” they snapped out of their daze, turning their attention from their sleeves to Frank,” do you want to go to the fair? You know, like uh, the fair… there’s rides, and um good food, usually a lot of animals, and games and you can win prizes with them ! There’s usually a tractor pull too, but it’s kind of late so it would probably be over by the time we got there.” Gerard wasn’t really understanding, but they could tell Frank was excited about it. They nodded. “Cool, let me get a jacket.” Ray and Bob shuffled out of the room. Frank pulled a dark grey jacket from the pile, pulling it on. He offered his hand to Gerard, who took it with a smile. He made sure to grab his wallet and leave a note for his mother on the kitchen counter before the group moved outside. Gerard froze at the sight of the car, watching Ray and Bob climb inside. 

“Gerard?” Frank tugged them towards the car, they didn’t budge, “it’s okay, it’s just a car. The fair is too far away, we can’t walk there. Haven’t you been in a car before?” They shook their head, warily eyeing the car as it roared to life. Frank found that a little hard to believe, but he didn’t push it. “It won’t eat you, it’ll be okay, I promise.” Gerard chewed their lip before nodding and the two slid into the back seat of Bob’s car. 

Frank was pleased to see Gerard didn’t mind the car once it had taken off. They were amusing themselves with the switch to the windows, lowering and raising the glass. Ray turned on the radio, flipping through stations to find a good song. Gerard was absolutely delighted. Frank found their love for music endearing, he smiled as Gerard bounced and bobbed their head to the songs. They tensed when the song ended and a loud and cheery voice could be heard announcing songs soon to be played. 

“Frank?” Gerard asked quietly, almost embarrassed to ask,” who is that?”

“It’s just commercials, and a radio host. They uh, hmm,” Frank was thinking of a way to explain, “they’re people who play songs on the radio. Which is like… it’s complicated. But um, there’s no tiny people in the car if that’s what you’re thinking.” Gerard seemed satisfied with the answer, their pale cheeks now rosy pink. They spent the rest of the car ride pressed against Frank. They stared out the window, watching the scenery speed by while bobbing their head to the radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun stuff coming soon
> 
> check me out on tumblr (witch-brat) and bother me, you might find some art for my fic and updates : ) ALSO updates might be coming slightly slower because I have college two days a week and I'll be starting my job soonish
> 
> also look at this nice playlist my pal kelly made its very fabulous  
> http://8tracks.com/gingecan/stranger-things


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was setting once they pulled into the hectic parking lot of the fairgrounds. After plenty of cursing from Bob, they pulled into a parking spot. It was much farther away from the fair than anyone would have liked, but the place was packed. Gerard was a little intimidated by the hustle and bustle and they anxiously gripped Frank’s hand. The group bought their tickets after waiting for what seemed like forever, shuffling through the entrance to the grounds. Immediately they were greeted by music, flashing lights and the distinct smell of greasy food. Both Gerard and Frank jumped when the sudden, loud roar of a tractor sounded from the dirt arena to their right. A giant cloud of dark smoke rose into the air, and the crowd cheered.

“Wanna check out the tractor pull? If we can manage to find a fucking seat,” Bob eyed the stands, which looked to be pretty tightly packed. An announcer’s voice boomed from the speakers, telling a score that made no sense to them. Ray nodded and the group moved, Gerard and Frank pulling up the rear. They were hesitant, but followed Frank after he gave them a reassuring squeeze of the hand. There weren’t any seats left from what they could see, so they settled to stand against the arena’s fence. The strong smell of gasoline hung in the air. 

A weight was attached to a rather old looking red tractor, the announcer talking excitedly about the model. The tractor growled as it struggled to pull the weight, tipping onto its back wheels. Gerard stared wide-eyed, watching the near-black smoke shoot out of the tractor as it slowly but surely made it’s way to the end of the arena. Frank smiled, watching Gerard rather than the tractors. Another tractor followed suit, this one looking much newer. 

“Cool right?”

“Cool,” Gerard smiled. They watched a few more tractors pull weights before Bob announced he was starving, and they left the arena. They weaved through the crowds, walking past endless food stands. Pizza, shaved ice, fried oreos, and the 4H building that sold what Ray insisted were the best burgers ever. Frank joked that he wouldn’t know. Bob separated from the group, buying himself a Bucket O’ Fries and leaving the remaining three standing idly amongst flashing lights and loud, cheesy fair music. 

“C’mon,” Frank pulled Gerard towards a stand selling fried oreos, Ray followed closely behind. “You’ll love this shit, fried oreos are the best.” After paying, Frank handed the hot paper tray to Ray. The three sat down at a nearby picnic table, Ray silently showing his disgust at the heavy smell of cigarettes that hung in the air. It was then Frank remembered he hadn’t smoked in what felt like forever. He was never a heavy smoker, but usually he snuck in a cigarette or two once a day. He hadn’t smoked since Gerard came into the picture. Frank and ray dabbed their oreos in the powdered sugar that fell to the bottom of the tray.

“Here,” Frank held out a properly-coated oreo,” it might be a little hot, so be careful.” Gerard tentatively held the fried oreo, biting off half of it and chewing slowly. Frank and Ray were both eating oreos as well, anxiously waiting for Gerard’s approval (or disapproval). Who could resist fried fucking oreos, Frank thought. Gerard smiled as they ate the last half of their oreo. “Good?”

“Good,” They grinned, reaching for another. Frank smiled as he took a bite of his oreo, accidentally inhaling the powdered sugar and choking. Ray was laughing as Frank wheezed and hacked, Gerard looking genuinely concerned. Frank wiped his watering eyes and coughed.

“I’m okay,” he cleared his throat,” this is fine.” He should have bought a water. Bob joined them moments later, setting his half-empty Bucket O’ Fries and lemonade on the semi-sticky table. Gerard had taken on the role of making sure there was nothing left in the oreo tray. They sucked powdered sugar from their fingers and Frank found himself watching for an embarrassing amount of time.

“Did you guys see the haunted house?” Bob sipped his lemonade,”we should check that out later. Also we need to go on that zero-gravity spinny thing.” Ray agreed. Frank was hesitant about the haunted house, he didn’t want to traumatize Gerard during their first fair experience. After everybody helped finishing off Bob’s bucket, they threw out their garbage and worked their way towards the fair rides and games. Gerard was absolutely loving the scene, their eyes wide as they admired the lights and rides. Frank couldn’t not smile. 

They stopped at a ticket booth, taking an awkwardly long time to buy their tickets. The loud music was coming from a speaker right next to the booth, and it was near impossible to understand what the seller was saying. Frank’s ears were burning and Ray was red faced as they both had to ask the seller to repeat themselves multiple times. Gerard had their back turned, staring off at a young man and woman who were embracing and eating each other’s face. Their mouthed mashed ungracefully together over and over again. Gerard turned their lip up in disgust, unable to look away from the horrifying sight. Frank moved next to them after getting tickets, letting out a loud “ew”. Gerard nodded in agreement, murmuring an “ew” as well. Neither of them could stop watching, it was like a car accident. Frank hoped Gerard wouldn’t ask about what they were doing, he wouldn’t have been able to explain. It was a piss-poor example of making out.

Ray let out a dramatic “thank God!” as he as well as Bob joined the two, holding an absurd amount of tickets. The first ride the group agreed to ride was the tall, giant swing ride. Frank thought Gerard would need persuasion to ride anything, but they seemed surprisingly eager. The four stood in line, watching the swing lower and come to a halt. Suddenly, Frank felt a hand holding his. 

“Are you nervous?” He asked, glancing down at their hands intertwined. Gerard shook their head.

“I just wanted to,” they nodded to their hands and smiled. The small gate was opened and the boys handed the ride operator tickets. Being first in line, they all had the prime seating choice. Frank and Gerard sat behind Ray and Bob. Frank buckled both of them in, feeling a little weird when he had to reach between Gerard’s legs to grab the belt. Gerard didn’t seem to notice or care. Frank pumped his legs to gain momentum and kicked the seat in front of them when the operator wasn’t looking. Bob flipped him off and Frank giggled, kicking again. Suddenly the ride jumped, everyone’s legs dangled as they rose into the air. Gerard was grinning and kicking their legs around as the swing sped up. 

“Why are they yelling?” Gerard turned to Frank, referring to the whooping and hollering Ray, Bob and the other riders were doing. 

“They’re having fun, people like to shout when they’re having fun,” Frank laughed. 

“Woooo,” Gerard timidly copied someone behind their seat, almost too quiet to hear over the loud music and the rumble of the ride’s engine. Frank let out a yell, making them giggle. They were holding hands again, resting on their legs that were pressed together. Bob turned around, grinning and whispering something to Ray. Frank was not one to be embarrassed about PDA, but he felt the tips of his ears burning. He could have sworn he heard one of them let out a “gaaay!”. He shook his head, turning to Gerard who was absolutely in love with the ride. They smiled the entire time, still smiling as it came to a stop and the riders all left the small metal pen surrounding the swings. 

“You guys make a pretty cute couple,” Ray wiggled his eyebrows, Frank punched him in the arm.

“Yeah, plus both of you are weirdos, so it’s perfect!” Frank punched Bob too. Gerard wasn’t paying attention, eyeing the row of game stands decorated in stuffed animals and inflatable aliens. They skipped the Carousel, Gerard insisting the fake horses were all staring at them and it was “too weird”. Nobody argued with them. The group came to the Scrambler, Bob mumbling something about “not wanting to puke his fucking guts out” and opting out of the ride. 

“Are you sure you want to ride this, Gerard? It’s pretty wild,” Frank nervously asked. He didn’t seem to change their mind. They nodded and stared at the ride with determination as the line moved and everybody picked their seats. Gerard was squished in the middle, Ray being on the outside and Frank on the inside. 

“The littlest people go on the inside, Frank,” Ray grinned as the ride began. Gerard’s knuckles were white as they gripped the bar before them. They quickly picked up speed and everybody found themselves glued to Ray, who was already having a blast. Frank watched as Gerard’s face went from confusion to complete and utter terror as they spun in circles.

“It’s okay!” Frank raised his voice to be heard over the sound of the ride, which was going at it’s top speed. Ray had his hands up, flipping Bob the bird as they flew by. Gerard was breathing heavily and Frank was struggling to calm them. He squeezed their knee and tried to convince them to focus on him instead of the Scrambler. People were shouting and screaming, waving their hands in the air. The ride went on for what felt like an eternity for Frank, he could only imagine it was an eternity plus one for Gerard. They looked like they wanted to cry. 

As soon as they slowed down it was obvious that Gerard was actually hyperventilating. They stared unfocused at the ground as they trembled. Ray hurriedly unbuckled the seatbelt as well as unlock the safety bar, the two helping a shaky Gerard off of the seat and away from the ride. 

“Let’s ditch the crazy rides,” Frank squeezed their arm, “we can go play games until you feel better. I’ll even win you a sweet ass prize.” This seemed to calm them considerably, though Frank was sure it was due to the fact that they wouldn’t be riding anything like the Scrambler again and not the promised sweet ass prize. 

They reunited with Bob and stared at the long stretch of carnival games. People behind the stand counters yelled at people walking by, some of them using microphones. A large group of girls giggled and ran away as a greasy, teenaged boy tried to convince them to play darts. Frank pulled out a wad of one dollar bills from his wallet, counting out fifteen. Ray pulled all of them towards the stand with the cans stacked in a pyramid. Frank handed a tall, burly looking man a few bucks and nearly choked when he said “let’s see what you can do, little man.” He thought he’d be using baseballs or something similar, and couldn’t help but let a groan escape him when he was handed dinghy beanbags. 

“Take two steps back,” the man instructed, standing to the side to let Frank throw. Of course it had to be made as difficult as possible. He ended up aiming too high and only knocking over the top can on the pyramid. Bob and Ray were giggling behind him and he felt his ears burning. Gerard was standing silently next to Frank, still recuperating from the Scrambler. There was a reason Frank’s most frequently skipped class was gym. Four remaining beanbags sat on the counter. He scowled and threw another, this time completely missing the pyramid. The man behind the counter was smirking under his absurdly large moustache. 

On his last throw, Frank managed to knock a few cans off of the top. He handed the man more money, huffing with frustration. Frank was not about to go back on his promised prize. He grunted as he threw the beanbags, having the same luck (or lack thereof). Bob was losing his shit, sarcastically rooting Frank on. He took a moment to channel his inner baseball pitcher before throwing the last beanbag, which failed him. The pyramid of cans stood unscathed. 

“You can take a prize marked as small, or keep playing,” the moustache man pointed to a row of pathetically small plush toys.

“Let Gerard do it!” Bob giggled, Gerard nervously took a step back. 

“You wanna have a go?” Frank asked, holding out another five of his ones.

”You could do it, you know, if you really put your mind to it!” Ray raised his brows, nudging them with his elbow. Frank and Bob both grinned and giggled. It took a few painfully long seconds before Gerard let out an “ohh!” and agreed to give the game a go. Frank picked out a small frog plus as his “prize” for being a pathetic loser. He planned to give it to Gerard anyways. The man restacked the cans and set out another set of beanbags on the counter after Frank handed him more money. Gerard hesitated, holding the beanbag tightly in his hands. They turned back to the three standing behind them, looking unnaturally giddy. They furrowed their brows in concentration, tossing the bag towards the pyramid. Every single can collapsed to the ground. Moustache man was bewildered, albeit impressed.

They tossed again, at another pyramid. All of the cans fell. Gerard was tossing with minimal effort, but the beanbag managed to hit dead-center and the entire pyramid collapsed. A group of young kids were standing near Frank, Ray and Bob and watched in awe.

“You knock over that third pyramid and you’ll get to pick out the extra large prizes!” Moustache man cheered them on. Bob and Ray whooped and clapped behind them, Frank was silent but beaming. Gerard gripped the dirty beanbag in their hand, trying to look like they were actually putting effort into the game. The beanbag magically knocked over the last pyramid, and everyone watching cheered and clapped. The attention confused Gerard, their cheeks burning bright. “Pick your prize. You can get an extra large, two larges, or four mediums or smalls.” They didn’t seem to pay attention, immediately pointing to a giant, pink stuffed alien in a Roswell jersey.

“How am I going to fit that in my car!” Bob fake-sobbed as Gerard was handed the giant alien. They were grinning, squeezing the alien as they left the wall of games.

“We should ride the ferris wheel next,” Frank suggested, Gerard’s smile disappeared. “Oh the ferris wheel is chill, it’s that giant circle over there. It doesn’t go fast or anything, I swear. Look at it!” Crinkling their nose, Gerard agreed to give it a go.

“I guess I could go for a nap,” Ray stretched his arms, letting out a dramatic yawn, “but after we are going into that haunted house thing.”

“Yeah, I wanna hear Frankie scream like a little bitch!” Bob laughed, Ray joining in as they stood in line for the ride. “Are we just going on this shit so you can mack on your new boyfriend, Frank?” 

“Um, NO,” Frank rolled his eyes. That was a lie and neither of his friends were buying it.

“So then are we all sitting in one car?”

“Well I mean,” Frank stammered a bit, obviously he wanted to be alone with Gerard and not have his friends hanging around if they ended up kissing. He wasn’t planning on kissing them, but if, if, it happened, he’d rather not be watched by Ray and Bob. 

“Say no more!” Ray held a finger to Frank’s lips to silence him, even though he wasn’t talking. “Obviously, you want to be alone with your magic-superhero-weirdo boyfriend. Let’s go, find something better to do Bob.” Bob wiped an invisible tear from his eye and the two shuffled out of the short line. Frank watched as they headed off in the direction of some much more intense rides, disappearing into the crowd.

“Frank?”

“Hm?” He turned to look at Gerard as they sat down in their empty car.

“What’s mack?” They hesitated on the word, setting down the giant pink alien on the seats opposite them. Frank’s face burned as he nervously scratched his head.

“It’s kissing, but like in an obnoxious way.” Frank watched them scoot closer as the ride slowly went into motion. The dull overhead light of the car flickered, which was annoying Frank to no end. It might as well have been off.

“Like what that boy and girl were doing?”

“Oh my god, no!” Frank choked, fake-gagging. “That was just disgusting. It wasn’t macking or kissing or making out, it was eating each other’s fucking faces.” They stared at him, confused.

“What’s kissing?” 

“Uh.” The two stared at each other, Frank felt his ears burning. They didn’t sense any awkward feelings even though Frank was radiating awkward. He swallowed hard, this could have been a lot more romantic if Frank wasn’t such a piece of garbage loser. Kissing wasn’t foreign or embarrassing in the slightest to Frank, but having to explain it to someone was hell. It was as painful as trying to tell a child where babies come from. “It’s… hard to explain,” He nervously glanced away, heart pounding. Gerard watched him, waiting for an answer.

Their eyes went wide as Frank threw his inhibitions away and brought his lips to theirs. Frank was internally shrieking, heart beating furiously. By the look of Gerard’s face, they felt similarly.

“That’s kissing?”

“Yeah...” There was an awkwardly long silence between them and Frank’s mind immediately filled with thoughts of regret and doubt. That was a dumb move, a dumb fucking move. He wanted to smack himself, watching Gerard’s face change from surprise to their usual cool, neutral expression. They were totally traumatized, Frank was sure of it. He looked down at his hands, ashamed of himself for being such an idiot.

“Do that again.” Frank’s head snapped back to face them so quickly he heard a tiny pop. Gerard was looking at him, face completely serious. Frank hesitated before slowly leaning in and kissing them again, lingering this time. They were smiling wide when Frank pulled back. Maybe they weren’t traumatized. Frank released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Before he could say anything Gerard leaned forward and kissed him again. Their lips were soft, and tasted vaguely of sugar. Definitely not traumatized. “Did I do it right?”

“You were, uh-- you were good,” Frank nodded, relaxing finally. They took hold of his hand, fingers intertwined. Their ride was descending for a second time and came to a slow stop. Frank handed Gerard their pink alien, having to release their hands so they could carry the large plush.

“Frank?”

“Yeah?” They exited the Ferris Wheel, Bob and Ray nowhere to be found.

“What’s a boyfriend?”

“Um,” Frank’s ears were burning again, “a boyfriend is someone you love, like when you’re dating them? You love them, and you hold hands and kiss and uh, do stuff together.” He didn’t mean for that to sound dirty, but it did to him. Gerard didn’t pick up on it. They didn’t reply, just nodding and hugging their plush. The two reunited with their friends, Ray holding a giant bag of cotton candy.

“Want some?” He tore off a piece and held it out to Gerard. Before they could accept Bob stole the miniature cloud and shoved it in his mouth. “Um, fucking rude.” Bob was laughing as Ray jokingly scolded him. Frank ripped a piece from the bag and held it out to Gerard. They shifted their alien, holding it awkwardly under on arm. Gerard put the whole chunk of cotton candy into their mouth and their expression suddenly changed to confusion and distress.

“It’s gone…” They trailed off, looking mortified. Frank was giggling along with Bob and Ray, who tore off another piece for themselves.

“It’s just sugar, it melts in your mouth. It’s supposed to disappear,” Frank smiled and ate his piece whole. He opened his mouth after a moment to reveal a tiny blue glob of sugar on his tongue. Gerard nodded and ate more of the sugar cloud. The group made their way to to haunted house that loomed over the small kiddy rides nearby. Screams and yells could be heard from inside, as well as assorted spooky sound effects. “Gerard,” Frank stopped and took their hand, letting Bob and Ray continue towards the attraction. He didn’t want them panicking like on the Scrambler. “Are you sure you want to? It’s… it’s supposed to be scary and I don’t want you to get freaked out. We-- you don’t have to go, I’ll stand out here and we can wait for Ray and Bob to get back.”

“I’m fine,” Gerard shrugged. Frank chewed his lip before nodding. The two joined Ray and Bob as they followed the caution tape queue into the cheesy looking house of horror. There was an absurd amount of smoke as well as cheaply made headstones, bones and body parts strewn across what was supposed to be the front yard of the house. Bob clapped Frank on the back and they all shuffled up some shoddy steps into the dark “house”. Frank looked to Gerard as they wandered through dark corridors, they were cool as a cucumber and weren’t phased by the screaming or bothersome flashing lights. Someone in a half-assed werewolf costume jumped out at the group, making Frank jump. Ray and Bob were laughing, specifically at him. 

They moved down a hall and Frank couldn’t hide his shrill scream as another person in a butcher’s costume jumped out at them and revved a chainsaw. Gerard was holding Frank’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Ray and Bob were leading the group, dying of laughter. Frank didn’t find anything funny about this. 

“You’re not being brave and macho for your boyfriend, Lero!” Bob snorted as he and Ray went off ahead. Frank was visibly bothered and embarrassed, clearing his throat and trying to shrug off the fact that he nearly pissed himself. He was thankful Gerard wasn’t judgemental, and if they were they didn’t say anything to Frank’s face. Turning a corner, Gerard and Frank stepped into a long hallway, the flashing of a strobe light being the only way to know where to step.

Frank worried his lips as they made it toward the end of the hall. There was red light ahead of them, as well as loud screaming sound effects. Before the two could step out of the hall someone jumped behind them, grabbing Frank’s shoulders and screaming. Frank screamed and ducked his head. Gerard turned to face the “attacker” with a cold glare, sending the masked person onto their ass and nearly to the other end of the room. 

“Hey man chill out ! I get paid minimum wage for this!” They groaned. Gerard didn’t linger to hear the man’s whining, taking Frank by the arm and guiding him to the next section of the house. The walls were splattered in fake blood and there were people popping out and shrieking and wailing. Frank was glued to Gerard’s side, silently trembling. They made it through the last room of the house without incident, Frank was sure Gerard was doing something with his weird mind-powers to make the workers leave them alone. He made sure to clear his throat and straighten himself out before Frank and Gerard left the haunted house, wandering through a fake bone and body part ridden yard. Bob and Ray were standing at the exit, clapping and whooping.

Frank ignored their playful teasing as they walked back towards the exit. They made a detour so Frank could buy fried dough. Everybody, including Gerard, picked off pieces of the powdery dough. They passed through the exit and wandered through the endless rows of cars to find Bob’s car. Frank opened the back seat doors for Gerard, who shoved their prize against the window before scooting to the middle. 

Gerard passed out as soon as they left the fairgrounds, head against Frank’s shoulder. The car was silent apart from the radio kept on low. Frank rested his head on top of Gerard’s, struggling to stay awake himself. 

When they pulled into Frank’s driveway, he was relieved to find the lights weren’t on. His mother was asleep and sneaking Gerard into the basement would be much easier. Frank poked Gerard’s cheek and gently shook them. 

“Gerard,” he shook them again,” we’re home. You have to wake up, I can’t carry you.” They groaned and sat up, rubbing their eyes. Frank slid out of the car and Gerard slowly followed suit. Bob and Ray mumbled tired goodbyes as Gerard tugged the giant, pink alien out of the car. Hugging it tight, they followed Frank to the door. He pulled out a key from under a flower pot and unlocked the house and the two shuffled into Frank’s room as quietly as possible. Quickly, they changed into pajamas and headed downstairs. Gerard was the first one asleep, sandwiched between an alien and Frank.


	6. Chapter 6

They were watching TV and eating cereal on the couch in their pajamas when there was a loud knocking on the door. Gerard almost jumps out of their skin, nearly spilling the cereal. Frank peeks through the closed curtains, barely able to make out two figures in suits standing at the door. The men shifted around impatiently, rapping on the door again. When he turned back to look at Gerard, the cereal bowl was on the coffee table and they were trembling.

“Do you know who’s here?” Frank asked, heading to the door. Gerard hesitated, but shook their head. Frank assumed they were just scared. Which was understandable, with the whole being a superhero on the lamb situation. 

“Just in case,” Frank stopped before the door, hand hovering near the handle,” go into my room and shut the door, close the curtains too. Don’t come out until I say so, okay? You’re safe, but I just...wanna be sure.” They nervously nodded before disappearing into Frank’s room and closing the door. He was shaking, but kept a cool exterior and opened the door enough to stick his head through. Frank didn’t even get in a “hello?” before the interrogation began.

“Do you know this person?” The taller, thicker of the two men held out a freshly printed picture of a boy. It was clearly Gerard, though their hair was a bit shorter, and their face was fuller and rounder. They weren’t smiling. Frank shook his head. “You seen them anywhere in town? On your way to school? Going through garbage cans? In the woods?” 

“No, sorry.” He moved to close the door, but the bald man reached out to hold it open. Frank was visibly shaking and freaked out. He didn’t seem satisfied, and Frank awkwardly stood frozen in place as the man holding the door inspected what he could see of the house through the doorway. The second man was in the front garden, stopping to try and look through the front window. The curtains were closed almost completely, blocking his view. He retreated back to the porch and Frank cleared his throat. “Uh…” 

“You see this person around, you call the number. They are a dangerous criminal who will seriously injure or kill someone. Keep this,” The man shoved the paper to Frank. He took it and the two walked off without another word. There was no car in sight, he wasn’t sure where they were going. Frank didn’t move until they were completely out of sight, even waiting an extra minute. He shut the door, clutching the paper to his chest after making sure it was locked. As much as Frank wanted to, he couldn’t relax. Paranoia washed over him.

“Gerard?” Frank tapped on the door,” you can,uh, open the door now. They were looking for you, some big weirdos in suits, but they’re gone. They left. It’s safe now.” There was no answer, the door didn’t budge. He waited, still nothing. Frank slowly opened the door to find Gerard sitting at the end of the bed, arms wrapped around themselves and rocking. He hesitated, hovering in the doorway until Gerard let out a sob and suddenly Frank’s legs were working again. Frank sat next to them on the bed, gently pulling Gerard into his arms.

“What’s going on?” Frank asked, brows furrowed in concern. Gerard didn’t say anything, sniffling and shaking in Frank’s arms. The two sat there for what felt like an eternity. Frank waited until Gerard calmed down enough to speak, but it didn’t seem to come. They pulled away, wiping their nose and holding a breath to stop the tears. It didn’t work. They were gasping for air, breathing ragged and shallow and they couldn’t seem to catch their breath. “Gerard,” Frank rubbed their arm, “Gerard you have to calm down a little. You’re hyperventilating. You’ll pass out.” They couldn’t hear him, trembling as their breathing became out of control. 

“Gerard,” Frank said again,” watch me. In for three seconds, out for three.” Gerard nodded, still hiccuping as Frank sucked in a breath. He paused, waiting before exhaling. “Copy me. In…” He did it again, Gerard struggling to follow. They managed much better on the exhale. “Again.” They continued like this, until Gerard could breathe regularly again. Frank slid back to rest against the headboard, holding his arms open as an invitation. Gerard didn’t need any convincing. They rested on top of Frank and the two were silent, Frank wasn’t sure if Gerard was even still awake.

“Hey,” Frank poked their side. They stirred and lifted their head, chin on Frank’s chest. Gerard’s eyes were puffy and pink, eyelashes clumped together with tears. “ Can I...ask about it? What had you so upset? I don’t.. I don’t like seeing you so upset, you know?” Gerard didn’t reply, avoiding eye contact. “You don’t have to give me all the gorey details, but… what happened?” There was no answer, Frank wasn’t going to push it further.

“Remembered,” They murmured, barely audible. Frank looked down at them. “Remembered um,” they swallowed hard,” they did… bad stuff. Just remembered all at once and it hurt and they hurt my brain and my body and it hurt and I didn’t mean to cry and I’m sorry but it hurt and--”

“You don’t need to be sorry for crying, Gee.” They didn’t say anything else. Tears were flowing again, but Gerard didn’t say anything. Frank chewed his lip, unsure of what to say. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

“They were looking for me?” Gerard was looking up at Frank again. He nodded.

“Pretty scary dudes. They were like eight feet tall and both of them bald and wearing sunglasses. It’s not even sunny out. They handed me a flier thing, with your picture on it.” Frank wiggled out from under Gerard to awkwardly lean off of the bed and grab the paper from the floor. If Gerard wasn’t anchoring him to the bed, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get back up. “Here,” Frank held out the picture to Gerard who was now sitting up.

“I look like a baby,” They stared at the picture, running their fingers over it, “don’t remember having my picture taken, ever.” The paper didn’t have much to say, just a large picture in the center with “LOST” in bold text across the top. There was a phone number on the bottom. No name, nothing. It didn’t seem to bother Gerard, but it was certainly not sitting well with Frank. 

“Frank?”

“Yeah?”

“They’re not gonna...they won’t stop looking for me,” Gerard paused. Frank opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted. “I can’t go back there, Frank. Please don’t let them find me. They’ll kill me for running away! They’re going to kill me!” Gerard was about to cry again. Frank pulled them into a hug, rubbing their back as they trembled against him.

“Here, you know what’ll make things better?” Gerard looked up at him, shaking their head. Frank separated himself from them for just a moment, moving to his CD player and popping a disc in. He returned to the bed just as the first song kicked on. It wasn’t Frank’s favorite, but Gerard adored Queen. Gerard was breathing normally and not almost-crying now.

They stayed like that until the music stopped. Frank wasn’t sure if Gerard was asleep or just quiet. He poked their side and they sat up, confused and startled. Their eyes were the size of dinner plates and they gripped the bed comforter. 

“Sorry,” Frank apologized, “I thought you fell asleep on me, dude.”

“I didn’t…” Gerard brushed their hair out of their face. They paused, letting go of the blanket and trying to smooth it out. “Can you play guitar for me?”

“Sure,” Frank slid off of the bed, “Oh also, you don’t mind if Ray comes ove--FUCK!” Frank hissed, slamming his toe into his dresser. Gerard watched in confusion as he hopped on one foot to his guitar case.

“...Fuck.” They said it slowly, experimenting with the new phrase. Frank froze and stared at Gerard.

“No, Gerard don’t, it’s a bad word--”

“Fuck!” They grinned, purposely going against him. Frank was horrified, Gerard was no longer the pure and innocent soul Frank treasured. Frank let out a defeated sigh, there’s no use in fighting it now. It was only a matter of time before Gerard was saying every swear under the sun, especially if they were to be spending time with Frank and his friends. He limped back to the bed with the guitar in his arms.

“What’s fuck mean?” Gerard asked as Frank started tuning the guitar.

“It’s just a bad word… You shouldn’t say it, you’re too pure for that shit.”

“Shit?”

“NO! Forget I said that,” Frank nearly sobbed, gripping his hair with anxiety. Before Frank could actually play anything, there was a knockknockknock on the window. Frank pulled back the curtain to find Ray standing with his arms crossed, looking impatient. Gerard ignored their wordless and brief conversation and ran their fingers across the guitar strings.

“I’ll be right back.” Frank left the room and Ray left the window. Gerard plucked  
and strummed. The two returned and Ray was scolding Frank for locking him out. 

“I can explain, okay?” Frank defensively threw his hands up as Ray sat on the bed. “There were like… me and Gerard were just sitting around, chilling. Then there’s a knock on the door and like… I got a weird feeling, so I told Gerard to go hide in my room. These two big, buff dudes in suits show up looking for Gerard. It was un-fucking-real, and also terrifying. They like… hand me a flier,” Frank looked around, picking up the abandoned paper from the ground and handing it to Ray,” and they’re like all “you see ‘em you call us”. Then one dude like goes around looking in the fucking windows! Terrifying.”

Gerard was visibly tense now, both Ray and Frank noticed. Frank sat down next to them and Gerard grabbed his hand. Ray picked up the guitar and started strumming, making a disgusted face when the sound wasn’t right.

“You’re shit at tuning, Iero.” 

“Shut up! We have more important matters at hand than my tuning skills.” Frank pouted, which made Gerard smile. “We have to, like, free Gerard. ‘Cause those suit dudes meant business and they’re probably still snooping around. They’ll kill them if they find ‘em, they said they were like… dangerous. Stupid, right?” Ray nodded, Gerard stared blankly at the wall

“Fake your death,” Ray said to Gerard, who turned to Ray with panic in their eyes. Frank squeezed their hand. “Shouldn’t we get Bob over here?”

“We can just fill him in later, also… that’s a really good idea, in theory, but like...how?” All were silent, Ray and Frank both developing plans. Ray absent-mindedly plucked a tune before suddenly turning to Frank with a metaphorical light bulb over his head.

“Do you still have the hospital gown?” Frank nodded slowly, unsure about the direction Ray was headed in. “Okay so like...you know those cliffs down by the river? And the--”

“Please do not tell me you want Gerard to jump off a fucking cliff--”

“Fucking!” Gerard chimed in, trying to match Frank’s annoyed expression.

“Wow, what has Frank been teaching you?!” Ray laughed and Frank rolled his eyes. At least Gerard was smiling. “But please just hear me out… like, okay so we call the number on the flier, right? Then we’re all like, yeah we saw this person in the woods headed to the river so they head towards there. We meet them at the cliffside, maybe one of us like holding Gerard and pretending to struggle and shit-- THEN Gerard pretends to wiggle free and jumps but like...wait-- shit. Gerard, can you like… levitate? If you can move other stuff you can technically move yourself, right?”

Gerard chewed their lip in thought before furrowing their brows and concentrating hard. The other two watched in awe as Gerard lifted, albeit just a few inches, off of the bed before plopping back down. Blood immediately dribbled from their nose and Frank reached for a tissue. They thanked him and held the tissue to their face. They seemed to have lost all energy, the color draining and the bags under their eyes more noticeable. 

“That’s fuckin’ perfect! So like… Under the cliff, kind of. there’s this hangout spot with a fire pit and shit and you can just jump off and levitate yourself before hitting the ground and just hide there. Nobody can survive a jump into the river from there, they’ll think you are dead and they’ll fuck right off. You’ll be free!” Gerard was leaning against Frank, probably not even listening. Frank wasn’t impressed by Ray’s plan.

“I dunno if you noticed, but they only were like, an inch off the bed. And look how tired they got after just that. So I dunno how they’d save themselves after falling like ten thousand feet…”

“I mean, practice makes perfect, like… “ Ray was looking to Gerard again,” if you practiced you’d be able to do it. Right?” Gerard didn’t really respond other than a tiny nod. “So then, that’s a plan… Do you have any better ideas, Frankie?” Frank glared at the name and sighed dramatically.

“...No.”

“So then it’s settled. Hooray for me being the best and smartest in our friend group. Sound good to you, Gerard?” They hesitated before nodding again and letting out a near inaudible “yes”.. Ray was beaming. “Cool, but like...for now we should just lay low or something. Maybe a disguise is in order. You could cut and dye your hair, firetruck red would look good on you.”

“Let’s worry about that um… not now.” Frank cut in before Gerard could respond.”We aren’t leaving the house anytime soon. Well, I am, like for school, but yeah. Oh, also we should probably go to the basement, are you staying for dinner?”

“I’m actually gonna hang out with Bob tonight so I’ll just get going. Do you want me to tell him about our plan-- Hey, we should give it a code name? Like “Operation Save Gerard” or something cooler like “Operation Flying Eagle” or some shit…”

“I’ll let you pick the name, just um, call me when you tell Bob ‘cause I want to know what he says. He’ll probably flip out.” Ray nodded before pointing to Gerard, who was sleeping against Frank’s shoulder. The tissue was abandoned in their lap, the remaining droplets of blood already dried.

“Wanna do me a favor?”

“You’re too puny to carry them, aren’t you?” Frank didn’t reply, Ray laughed as quietly as he could without waking Gerard. Frank slid off of the bed as Ray simultaneously picked up Gerard bridal style. “I feel like I’m carrying a pile of bones.” Frank grabbed his guitar and they made their way downstairs. Ray gently set them on the couch after Frank put the cushions back on.

Frank and Ray made their way back upstairs, Frank to grab his backpack and Ray to head home. Just as they stepped into the small hallway the door opened and Frank’s mom stepped inside.

“Hi, Mrs.Iero,” Ray greeted, heading towards the door.

“Hi, Ray!” She smiled, though she was obviously tired,” you heading home already? Avoiding me? Why don’t you stay for dinner, I’m making lasagna.” Frank snuck into his room to grab his backpack and set it at the basement’s door.

“Oh, I’d never avoid you and your food,” Ray pulled on his beat up sneakers,” I’ve got a lot of homework and stuff to do at home. I’ll make sure to stay for dinner sometime soon. Bye Frank.” He waved to Frank, then to Linda before heading out. Frank’s mother turned to him, hands on her hips.

“Frank Anthony, what’s with you and that basement? You hiding something from me?” Frank’s face turned red and sheer terror washed over him for a moment.

“Um, no, it’s just…” Frank hesitated, trying to come up with something, anything, “it’s just big and I kind of wanted to make it into….like a studio. Me, Ray, Bob and Dewees are gonna start a band. You don’t mind, do you?” She looked wary and suspicious, Frank swallowed and smiled as innocently as he could. She totally wasn’t gonna buy it.

“I don’t want any rehearsals past ten…” Frank let out a tiny sigh of relief. She bought it. Linda shook her head and turned to the kitchen. “I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” Frank smiled and disappeared into the basement with his backpack. Gerard was awake when Frank plopped on the couch next to them.

“What are you doing, Frankie?” Gerard asked as Frank pulled out a binder. He paused, questioning whether he was hearing things or not. Did they really just call him Frankie? Frank generally disliked the nickname, the only person he’d tolerate calling him that would be his mother. But she’s his mom, so she can do whatever she wants to and he really couldn’t do anything about it..

“Homework,” Frank said nothing about Gerard’s pet name for him, there was no way he could tell them not to use that. Plus, it didn’t sound so bad coming from them.“School stuff...you know?” They shook their head. “I gotta do math stuff and then read part of this book, I got a science lab to finish too but I’ll do it during my study hall tomorrow.”

“Study hall?” They were leaning against Frank now.

“Yeah like...a free period where you just go to this class room and do whatever you want.” Gerard nodded with a tiny “oh” and watched as Frank pulled out a heavy textbook. He opened it and set it in Gerard’s lap, who tried to make sense of the problems. Frank pulled out some paper and scribbled in the answers, telling Gerard when to flip the page. 

Linda called Frank upstairs for dinner right as he finished math. He took one plate down and waited for Gerard to eat before heading upstairs “for seconds” which were really firsts. Gerard was a bit disappointed they couldn't have pizza rolls. Frank’s mother commented on how much he’s been eating lately, and how he was still “so thin after pigging out day after day”. Frank just smiled and laughed it off, joking about being a growing boy.

The phone rang as Frank was heading towards the basement. Perfect timing, it had to be Ray. He picked up the phone sitting in the hall and balanced it between his shoulder and face, picking at his plate. Ray greeted him on the phone and Bob chimed in with profanities. Frank was right in that Bob flipped out about the plan.

“That’s the dumbest, shittiest idea I’ve ever heard of!” Bob shouted into the phone, Ray  
whining about his poor ears. Bob did agree to be a part of their master plan, and he and Ray decided on the name for their mission. Operation Free the Tiger. Bob also demanded that they use high-tech walkie talkies.

“Fine, whatever,” Frank huffed, “We can talk more about this another time. Maybe in school. Bye.” Bob shouted more profanities before Frank hung up and went downstairs. He sat down on the couch with a big sigh, attempting to organize the junk in his backpack. He took out his English homework, just the book. After some whining from Gerard, Frank ended up reading his homework to them. Frank didn’t mind, though he was a bit nervous to be reading out loud. Especially in front of somebody as cute as Gerard. They listened attentively, not bothered by Frank messing up the words or taking long pauses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its about 3am and im very tired. work + school are draining. sorry yall had to wait forever. im going to bed.also i had to proof read this myself so if anything is wack lmk.


End file.
